Articles

Tomorrow, I will argue SDS Family Trust v. California Coastal Commission in the California Court of Appeal, in Ventura, at 1:30 p.m.  This case challenges the constitutionality of a public-access easement that the California Coastal Commission seeks to exact from a family as the price of approving a permit that would allow the family simply to upda ...

The California Coastal Commission is at it again, trying to rid the coastal zone of all things private and commercial.  But this time, it's doing so indirectly--using another state agency to do its bidding. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is the state agency responsible for managing and improving California's highway system. ...

In Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management, PLF won one of the most important property rights decisions in decades.  As we have described in more detail elsewhere, the victory means that the government can no longer use the permitting process as an opportunity to shake down property owners for money, land, or other goods. The government may only ...

  caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640" The home and property of Scott and Lynn Powell/caption As reported, PLF represents Humboldt County residents Scott and Lynn Powell in their fight against government extortion.  The County of Humboldt demands that the Powells obtain a building permit to bring some covered porches on their mobile ...

Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court heard Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District, argued by PLF attorney Paul Beard. A local government agency denied Coy Koontz a building permit because he refused to agree to unreasonable permit conditions. PLF argued that this permit denial was unconstitutional. In the hearing, the Court consid ...

This Tuesday, PLF attorney Paul Beard will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to protect property owners from unfair government demands made during the permitting process. PLF's client, Coy Koontz, Jr., is fighting a Florida agency's decision that conditioned issuance of land use permits upon Koontz agreeing to pay for improvements on public lands located ...

Yesterday, the San Luis Obispo Superior Court issued an adverse ruling in SDS Family Trust v. California Coastal Commission.  As you may recall, this case involves a family's constitutional challenge to the Commission's demand for a public-access easement as a condition of a permit to remodel a home.  The trial court did not reach the question of t ...

Author: Paul J. Beard II Earlier this month, the San Luis Obispo Superior Court delivered a nice win to PLF client, SDS Family Trust, in its fight against the California Coastal Commission. The Family is suing the Commission for extorting a mile-long public access easement across its coastal property as a condition of obtaining a permit to remode ...

Author:  Paul Beard II On Friday, PLF attorneys filed a lawsuit against the California Coastal Commission—the State's worst abuser of property rights and of landowners who live and work in the State's coastal zone.  The case centers on the Commission's attempt to take a substantial public access easement from a f ...