Articles

Ninth Circuit holds that permafrost is a navigable water Today the Ninth Circuit in this opinion ruled against our clients in Tin Cup LLC v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Tin Cup, a family owned pipe fabrication business in North Pole, Alaska, sought to expand and relocate its business. The Army Corps of Engineers claimed jurisdiction … ...

The tendency for courts to broadly defer to agency decisions frustrates the judiciary’s core function as the adjudicative branch of government. Such deference also frustrates individual rights by sweeping constitutional guarantees under the rug. Take, for example, Washington State’s Growth Management Hearing Board. The legislature creat ...

Preliminary injunction briefing completed in Minnesota dance case This week we finished briefing our motion for a preliminary injunction in D.M. v. Minnesota State High School League. In this case, we represent two Minnesota high school boys who love to dance. Unfortunately, Minnesota state rules prohibit boys from joining high school competitive d ...

 Agencies must explain their decisions Thursday, we filed the latest brief in Mark and Bella Greene v. California Coastal Commission. The Greenes are a retired couple who wish to remodel their house in Playa Del Rey, Los Angeles. Even though the Greenes’ plans were consistent with local and state laws, the Commission told them that … ...

It’s time to finally settle the legislative exactions question Earlier this week, PLF attorneys filed this reply brief in support of the U.S. Supreme Court petition in Dabbs v. Anne Arundel County. Interestingly, the County’s opposition brief did not disagree with our argument that review should be granted to settle the nationwide confl ...

Seattle asks courts to clear the way for unlawful taxes Late last year, a King County, Washington, trial court ruled in Kunath v. City of Seattle (formerly Shock v. City of Seattle), that Seattle’s attempt to levy an income tax on so called “high-earners” was plainly unlawful. In what the local press has called a … ...

Washington State boasts one of the most protective constitutions in the nation. Among its unique provisions, the Uniformity Clause protects individuals from discriminatory taxation by requiring that any taxes be imposed in a uniform manner. In addition to that, the state legislature, long ago, passed a law forbidding cities and counties from taxing ...

This week, our friends at the Cato Institute and NFIB Small Business Legal Center filed an excellent friend-of-the-court-brief supporting our clients in Pacetta, LLC v. Town of Ponce Inlet.  The case arose after Simone and Lyder Johnson set out to build their dream home in Ponce Inlet, Florida.  After the Town encouraged them to plan … ...

PLF gets into a Santa suit to fight for free speech This week, PLF filed a lawsuit against the Washington Department of Ecology for kicking Santa out of their public lobby because they didn’t like him spreading Christmas cheer. We’re representing Freedom Foundation, a right-to-work think tank that sends canvassers out to state agencies ...