Articles

PLF litigating against the California Coastal Commission on behalf of landowners . . . again

February 24, 2012 | By PAUL BEARD

This Monday, the San Luis Obispo Superior Court will be hearing arguments on the merits of PLF’s lawsuit on behalf of a southern California family in SDS Family Trust v. California Coastal Commission.  The hearing is at 9:00 a.m., in Department 3, at 1035 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo. In this case, the SDS Family … ...

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Daily Journal publishes PLF op-ed on Martin's Beach decision

May 05, 2016 | By CHRIS KIESER

The San Francisco Daily Journal published my op-ed today on last week’s California Court of Appeal decision in the Friends of Martin’s Beach case. As I have written before, in this case an advocacy group sued property owner Vinod Khosla claiming that the public is entitled to cross his property to reach the beach.  The group relied ...

Articles

PLF asks California Supreme Court to hear due process case against Coastal Commission

January 22, 2017 | By TONY FRANCOIS

PLF recently filed a friend of the court letter with the California Supreme Court, encouraging the justices to grant review in an important due process challenge against the California Coastal Commission. The Coastal Commission brought a highly questionable enforcement action against our friends at Drakes Bay Oyster Company, accusing the company o ...

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California supreme court declines to hear due process appeal

January 26, 2017 | By TONY FRANCOIS

Sometimes life comes at you fast. Just last week we reported on our letter asking the California Supreme Court to grant review in Drakes Bay Oyster Company v. California Coastal Commission, to decide whether an enforcement agency can compromise its constitutionally required neutrality by putting its decidedly biased enforcement staff in charge of d ...

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Weekly litigation update — May 13, 2017

May 13, 2017 | By JOSHUA THOMPSON

PLF fights for booksellers’ First Amendment rights On Thursday, PLF filed a major civil rights lawsuit on behalf of Book Passage, a bookstore in the Bay Area. The lawsuit challenges a California statute that requires businesses that sell signed items to demonstrate the authenticity of the signatures. This is a particular problem for bookstore ...

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Coastal property owners do not need to jump through meaningless hoops to get to the courthouse

February 07, 2018 | By JEFF MCCOY

The California Coastal Act was designed to preserve coastal resources and public beach access while also protecting private property rights.  In furtherance of the last goal, the Coastal Act protects the right of property owners to build seawalls and other devices to protect their homes from storms and erosions.  Yet, over the past few years, &# ...

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The Constitution protects property rights from unelected government agencies

May 24, 2018 | By JEFF MCCOY

In 1996, Dr. Mark and Bella Greene, a couple from Pennsylvania, bought an older beach house in Playa Del Rey, Los Angeles. Their plan is to remodel this home and spend their retirement in southern California close to their son and their grandchildren. A few years ago, they started the process to get permits for … ...

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Weekly litigation report — May 26, 2018

May 26, 2018 | By JAMES BURLING

The Constitution protects property rights from unelected government agencies Holding state administrative agencies accountable to the law Does “land owned or controlled by the Federal Government” include the ocean? PLF sues Seattle for banning new housing websites Democracy vouchers violate free speech PLF responds to Seattle’s ap ...

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Weekly litigation update — June 9, 2018

June 11, 2018 | By JAMES BURLING

Coastal Commission challenged on “yurt” condition This week we filed an amicus brief in the California court of appeal to support the San Diego Port District’s challenge to a Coastal Commission demand for more “lower cost visitor accommodations” in the San Diego Bay area. The Port wants to amend its land-use plan to fa ...