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Weekly litigation report : Navigable wetlands, water rights, and more

November 10, 2018 | By JAMES BURLING

PLF asks Supreme Court to take up wetlands enforcement case This Wednesday we filed a cert. petition in the Supreme Court in Robertson v. United States. Joe Robertson is appealing his Clean Water Act conviction for digging water supply ponds to protect his property from forest fires. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claimed that a … ...

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Weekly litigation report — September 1, 2018

September 01, 2018 | By JAMES BURLING

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 ...

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California Court of Appeal imposes public trust obligations on groundwater well permits

August 29, 2018 | By JEREMY TALCOTT

This morning a California Court of Appeal issued an unfortunate opinion (although given the state of California courts, perhaps an unsurprising one) affirming in full a trial court decision that imposed public trust obligations on the County of Siskiyou’s issuance of groundwater well permits. The decision could have a significant negative imp ...

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Weekly litigation report — March 17, 2018

March 17, 2018 | By JAMES BURLING

Washington limits the reach of the public trust doctrine. Congress gets an earful on the problems with the federal permitting process Amicus Brief Filed in Challenge to San Francisco’s Discriminatory Sign Ban Santa Barbara inspection case headed to a hearing Washington limits the reach of the public trust doctrine. Yesterday, the Washington S ...

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Weekly litigation report — February 17, 2018

February 17, 2018 | By JAMES BURLING

Good schools for all – regardless of race Florida court sides with NIMBYs and against property rights Indiana Supreme Court loses its way in public trust doctrine case Corps cannot treat permafrost as navigable waters EPA ignores PLF advice on CRA and WOTUS Good schools for all – regardless of race Representing seven families, PLF … ...

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Fed Soc teleforum on ‘the right to a better climate’

December 20, 2017 | By DAMIEN SCHIFF

Last week’s teleforum focused principally on the recent oral argument before the Ninth Circuit addressing the federal government’s mandamus petition, which requests that the appellate court put an immediate stop to the litigation. … ...

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PLF reminds California that the Constitution protects property rights

October 24, 2017 | By JEFF MCCOY

Today, PLF submitted comments to the California State Lands Commission on its Draft Public Access Guide to California’s Navigable Waters. The Guide purports to restate the law related to public use of waterways within the state, but it leaves much to be desired – especially for property owners. Specifically, the Guide implies that Californi ...

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Weekly litigation update — August 12, 2017

August 12, 2017 | By JAMES BURLING

Wheat farming goes on trial Tuesday EPA defends its actions in response brief filed with Sixth Circuit Critical habitat for frogs and a toad challenged Amicus brief filed in Indian “reserved” groundwater dispute Petition for rehearing denied in Utah prairie dog case Pennsylvania school boards may flout the law Siskiyou County appeal on ...

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Should the public trust doctrine be expanded to the use of groundwater?

August 10, 2017 | By JEREMY TALCOTT

This morning PLF filed this amicus brief in the California Court of Appeal for the Third District in support of the County of Siskiyou. We asked the Court of Appeal to overturn this superior court decision, which expanded public trust considerations to permits issued for the use of groundwater. Adopting the superior court’s rationale could & ...