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PLF’s new U.S. Supreme Court case will affect every homeowner

October 08, 2012 | By BRIAN HODGES

Often, the issues decided by the U.S. Supreme Court seem so esoteric that it is unclear how its decision will impact ordinary people.  That is not the case with PLF’s new U.S. Supreme Court case, Koontz v. St. John’s River Water Management District. Koontz concerns an issue that is eventually faced by every homeowner.  Nowadays, R ...

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Joshua Thompson discusses Fisher and Koontz with Armstrong & Getty

October 08, 2012 | By JOSHUA THOMPSON

I appeared on Armstrong & Getty this morning discussing PLF’s newest Supreme Court case Koontz v. St. John’s River Water Management District.  Of course, I also talked about Fisher.  Be sure to tune into Armstrong & Getty Wednesday morning when I will be reporting from the steps of the Supreme Court on the Fisher oral … ...

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PLF files opening brief in major U.S. Supreme Court property rights case

November 21, 2012 | By BRIAN HODGES

Today, PLF filed the merits brief in the U.S. Supreme Court property rights case, Koontz v. St. John’s River Water Management District (a copy of the merits brief is available here). As you may recall, Koontz concerns an issue that is eventually faced by every property owner:  can the government force you to pay for … ...

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Koontz receives broad support in his fight to protect property rights

November 29, 2012 | By BRIAN HODGES

Last month, I explained how the U.S. Supreme Court case, Koontz v. St. John’s River Water Management District, has the potential to affect every property owner across the nation. As it turns out, people were listening. Yesterday, our client, Coy Koontz, received nine amicus briefs from 31 organizations supporting Mr. Koontz’s argument t ...

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Local news covers Koontz’s property rights battle

November 30, 2012 | By BRIAN HODGES

Fox News in Orlando ran this story about our U.S. Supreme Court case, Koontz v. St. John’s River Water Management District. The reporter provides one of the best summaries of the case I have heard:  the district said, before you can use your land, you have to pay to fix up our land. Sadly, the government still doesn’t seem … ...

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Koontz blog round up

December 11, 2012 | By BRIAN HODGES

Last week, I wrote about the broad support that our client in Koontz v. St. John’s River water Management District received from landowners, developers, industry associations, legal scholars, land use attorneys, and think tanks from across the nation. Since then, two law bloggers have provided excellent summaries of the amicus briefs. Robert ...

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Koontz oral argument : the Takings Clause protects “private property,” not just real property

January 08, 2013 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Is money a kind of private property?  In PLF’s Koontz case, which attorney Paul Beard II will argue at the U.S. Supreme Court on the 15th, one significant issue is whether the Supreme Court’s previous decisions  in Nollan and Dolan apply to monetary exactions.  Those two cases protect property owners from unlawful permit conditions t ...

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Koontz oral argument : what do state and local governments think the Takings Clause protects?

January 10, 2013 | By JONATHAN WOOD

In Koontz, governments across the country argue that the Takings Clause only applies to real property and not to demands for money.  But that argument can’t be squared with the text of the Takings Clause which reads: nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. As you can see from its … ...

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Koontz oral argument : the balance of Dolan

January 14, 2013 | By JONATHAN WOOD

Tomorrow, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in PLF’s property rights case, Koontz.  In a series of posts last week, we scrutinized the arguments being made and argued that the Supreme Court precedents set out in Nollan and Dolan should apply to Koontz.  On Friday, we took an in-depth look at Nollan.  This … ...