Articles

Earlier this week, the government filed its merits brief in the temporary physical takings case, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission v. United States. Many of us were eagerly awaiting the brief to see how the government addressed the temporary takings debate, particularly in regard to the U.S. Supreme Court’s foundational takings precedents. ...

It’s been another amazing week here at PLF.  Here are a few of the highlights. Property Rights — Back to the United States Supreme Court! The Supreme Court granted certiorari today in Koontz v. St. John’s River Management District.  This is the case where the district is demanding a Florida landowner (actually now his heirs  ...

Yesterday I attended the oral argument for Lemire v. Washington Department of Ecology at the Washington Supreme Court. The primary question the Court must resolve in that case is whether Ecology committed a taking when it ordered cattle rancher Joseph Lemire to install livestock exclusion fencing around a creek that runs through his property. The ...

Property Rights — Arkansas Game & Fish Commission v. United States We had a major win earlier this week when the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the United States could be liable for a taking after it systematically and regularly flooded trees belonging to the State of Arkansas for a number of years, destroying millions … ...

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 … ...

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Today, the Texas Supreme Court handed down a short but sweet victory for Texas property owners who had their land and beach homes taken for use as a public beach, without compensation, by the State of Texas and Village of Surfside. The case arises from a long running dispute in Surfside, Texas, a small, but popular coastal area. At … ...

Several of America’s best known ski areas operate on national forests under permits from the Forest Service.  They own private water rights to make snow as well as basic services at their ski lodges, restaurants, and hotels.  The ski areas did not get these water rights from the Forest Service, which cannot grant any water rights.  They ...

Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued a decision in Horne v. Department of Agriculture, a case in which California raisin growers sued the Department of Agriculture in federal district court after the Department fined them for refusing to hand over a portion of their raisins to the federal government without compensation. In the federal court, the & ...