Articles

Property Rights — California Coastal Commission We filed our brief in Lynch v. California Coastal Commission.  Here, the Commission is 1) refusing to allow a pair of homeowners to repair some storm-damaged beach stairs unless the stairs are dedicated for public use and, 2) refusing to allow for the construction of a new seawall (to replace ...

In 2007, Minnesota passed a law to regulate emissions from power plants. But, because the increased costs of complying with this law would lead to more of the electricity consumed in the state to be generated elsewhere, Minnesota asserted the authority to regulate beyond its own borders. This week, PLF and the NFIB Small Business … ...

Property Rights — New Jersey rejects takings claim The New Jersey Supreme Court issued this adverse ruling in Griepenburg v. Township of Ocean.  In that case the New Jersey Supreme Court held that a local government can zone a property in a manner to benefit everyone else but the property owners, and those property owners … ...

We’ve filed a brief in the Supreme Court, on behalf of PLF, the Cato Institute, National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center, and Reason Foundation, asking it to take up a case challenging state regulations of commerce occurring wholly beyond their borders. In this case, Colorado has adopted a law that regulates how ...

Mobile home park shakedown scheme challenged PLF attorneys filed this complaint this week in Jisser v. City of Palo Alto on behalf of a couple that would like to retire from the business of running a mobile home park but cannot do so unless they pay $8 million to buy our the current residents.  The … ...

This morning, a divided panel of the Eighth Circuit held that a Minnesota law regulating greenhouse gas emissions beyond the state’s borders is invalid. This is a welcome result. PLF, joined by NFIB, filed an amicus brief in the case, supporting the challenge, arguing that the Constitution’s Dormant Commerce Clause forbids extraterritor ...

Property rights — limits on the public trust doctrine The Washington state court of appeals issued this opinion on the “public trust doctrine” in Chelan Basin Conservancy v. GBI Holdings.  The facts here involved a lake that had been raised 21 feet by a dam in the 1920s. GBI owned several acres of land that periodically flooded ...

Rather than use independent dealerships, Tesla Motors has fought for years to sell its luxurious, electric vehicles directly to consumers through galleries owned and operated by Tesla. It should come as no surprise, then, that the car dealerships have teamed up in various state legislatures to keep Tesla out of their state unless Tesla agrees to ...

Today, PLF filed an amicus brief in the Second Circuit supporting a television manufacturer’s challenge to a Connecticut law that shifts the cost of a local recycling program onto consumers in other states. The law is plainly unconstitutional under the Dormant Commerce Clause, which forbids states from regulating or taxing activity beyond th ...