Articles

Author: Brian T. Hodges Last week, I wrote about PLF’s victory in the regulatory takings case, Dunlap v. City of Nooksack.  Well, I want to take a moment to recognize the property owners in this case, Kipp and Marilyn Dunlap.  The Dunlaps are cattle farmers who own land in the City of Nooksack, a small … ...

Author: Brian T. Hodges Earlier today, Washington’s Supreme Court denied PLF’s petition raising a facial challenge to the constitutionality of big, mandatory buffers in the case, Kitsap Alliance for Property Owners v. Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board.  This case arises from Kitsap County’s adoption of a c ...

Author: Brian T. Hodges Today, PLF filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court urging it to review the unconstitutional exactions case, West Linn Corporate Park, L.L.C. v. City of West Linn.  The facts of the case are as follows.  The City of West Linn, Oregon, required West Linn Corporate Park to finance and … ...

Last week, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, in Casitas Municipal Water District v. United States, dismissed as unripe the plaintiff district’s takings claim.  (PLF submitted an amicus brief supporting the district).  The case arose out of the district’s operation of the Ventura River Project.  In 2003, the National Marine Fisher ...

  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 home up to code.  (The prior owner never bothered to get a permit).  But the County won’t &# ...

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 & ...

In Brott et. al. v. United States, a group of Michigan property owners have brought suit against the United States for a violation of their rights under the Fifth Amendment. They contend that the federal “rails to trails” program has resulted in a taking of their private property without payment of just compensation. But this … ...

The more you own the more government can steal? We filed this petition for writ of certiorari in in Murr v. Wisconsin.  William Murr and his wife bought two contiguous lots along the Lake St. Croix waterfront on separate dates in 1959.  The first was titled in the family plumbing business and the Murrs built a 950 square foot home … ...

Property rights — mapping the property away We filed this amicus brief in Kirby v. North Carolina supporting the rights of landowners. In a scenario common in many states, transportation agencies know they will likely be building new roads and highways, they have a pretty good idea where those roads might go, but they don’t … ...