Articles

Home-sharing is an economic boon. So why are cities trying to stamp it out?

January 10, 2019 | By CALEB TROTTER

Last year, Iowa property owners earned a cool $9.3 million renting out their properties through the popular home-sharing service Airbnb. That’s $9.3 million that helps the owners to pay mortgages on those properties, as well as other expenses like school tuition, groceries, and emergency savings. In addition, the 100,000 or so bookings raised ...

Articles

Weekly litigation report — December 22, 2018

December 22, 2018 | By JAMES BURLING

PLF asks Supreme Court to hear Alaska permafrost case This week, PLF filed a petition asking the United States Supreme Court to review Tin Cup, LLC v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a case that asks whether the federal government can control land uses on buried frozen permafrost just because the government claims such permafrost is a “navig ...

Articles

Seattle can’t ban websites it dislikes

August 17, 2018 | By ETHAN BLEVINS

Today, we filed a motion for summary judgment in Rentberry v. City of Seattle, asking a federal court to throw out Seattle’s ban on rental bidding websites. We argue that Seattle’s regulation by reflex is contrary to the core tenets of a free society. … ...

Articles

Weekly litigation report — May 5, 2018

May 05, 2018 | By JAMES BURLING

Another lawsuit to challenge Seattle’s war on landlords This week, we sued to challenge Seattle’s Fair Chance Housing Ordinance on behalf of several landlords and the Rental Housing Association of Washington in Yim v. City of Seattle. The Fair Chance Housing Ordinance forbids landlords from asking for a criminal background check or deny ...

Articles

Weekly litigation report—December 9, 2017

December 09, 2017 | By JAMES BURLING

PLF Asks Michigan Supreme Court to Review Taking of Home for an $8 debt, Oral Argument at the U.S. Sixth Circuit in PLF’s Marquette County case, and Seattle’s “involuntary speech – forced democracy” scheme has been appealed. … ...

Articles

Weekly litigation report — May 20, 2017

May 20, 2017 | By JAMES BURLING

Amicus brief filed for contractor long frozen out of contracts Settlement reached in mobile home park case Cap and trade appealed Prairie dog ruling petition to the 10th Circuit Reply filed in Kinderace petition to Supreme Court Affirmative action case goes back to district court Amicus brief filed for contractor long frozen out of contracts ̷ ...

Articles

PLF asks the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that there is no “legislative exception” to the unconstitutional conditions doctrine

March 21, 2017 | By BRIAN HODGES

On Friday, PLF attorneys filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case, 616 Croft Ave, LLC v. City of West Hollywood. The petition asks the Court to review a California Court of Appeal decision holding that a city or county can force landowners to dedicate private property … ...

Articles

Is tolerated freedom really freedom at all?

March 21, 2017 | By ETHAN BLEVINS

More and more, we have to receive government permission to exercise basic rights. This subverts a fundamental notion of liberty: first comes freedom, then comes government to secure that freedom. We’ve begun instead to slip into a world in which any freedom we enjoy exists as an indulgence granted by government–a government that can wi ...

Articles

San Ramon briefing complete

December 19, 2016 | By DAMIEN SCHIFF

Today we filed our reply brief on the petition for review in our challenge to a special tax levied by the City of San Ramon’s community facilities district. Our petition asks the California Supreme Court to review the court of appeal’s first-impression interpretation of the Mello-Roos Act’s limitation on municipal services financi ...