Articles

PLF asks US Supreme Court to hear broadcasters out

April 18, 2014 | By ANASTASIA BODEN

For years, FCC has prohibited public broadcasters from showing paid advertisements by for-profit entities or political candidates.  So when Minority TV—a non-profit channel out of San Francisco—aired advertisements for Korean Air, Gingko Biloba Tea, and the like, FCC scrambled to silence them (and fine them $10,000.)  Minority TV sought refug ...

Articles

Does advertising a home “For Sale By Owner” make you a real estate agent?

July 31, 2014 | By TIMOTHY SANDEFUR

That’s what Nebraska bureaucrats think. Meet California entrepreneur Leslie Young. From her home in Northern California, Leslie runs a business called elist.me, which helps people to advertise their homes for sale on a For Sale By Owner basis. If you want to sell your home, you pay a fee and provide her with information about … ...

Articles

The government can’t call speech "conduct," then require a license for it

July 24, 2015 | By ANASTASIA BODEN

If the First Amendment means anything, it means the right to speak freely without asking for permission first. Yet in Nebraska, you have to get a government license before advertising.  PLF client Leslie Young helps people to sell their homes without the help of a real estate broker.  She acts as an advertising agent, posting … ...

Articles

Court rules that you need a real estate broker license to advertise for sale by owner homes

June 10, 2016 | By ANASTASIA BODEN

Leslie Young started her business—eList.me—to help people who want to sell their homes without the use of a real estate broker, or “for sale by owner” (FSBO).  The way her business works is she enters information about FSBO homes into online databases, and those databases publish that information in the form of advertisemen ...

Articles

First Amendment success in California (and it didn't even require a lawsuit)

July 22, 2016 | By CALEB TROTTER

All too often, cities fail to respect the First Amendment and pass unconstitutional laws that restrict people’s ability to advertise with signs. For recent examples, see here and here. But occasionally, cities can do the right thing. I’m happy to report that this week, Roseville, California did the right thing and enacted an ordinanc ...

Articles

A legislative victory in Nashville Airbnb case

August 18, 2016 | By CALEB TROTTER

Last month, PLF filed an amicus brief supporting the Anderson family and their right to advertise and rent out their Nashville home via Airbnb. One of the issues addressed in the brief is Nashville’s ban on signs that advertise a home’s availability as a short-term rental. The Andersons wanted to place a small, temporary sign … ...