Articles

Author: Brandon Middleton I have previously criticized a federal court's decision to halt a West Virginia wind energy project decision. The court's decision is seriously flawed, mainly because it failed to consider how small of an impact the wind project would have on the endangered Indiana bat species. Rather than focus on the health of & ...

Over half of states have laws that require entrepreneurs to get permission from existing businesses to open up shop.  We call these laws “Competitor’s Veto” laws, and we’ve challenged them successfully in Oregon, Missouri, Kentucky, and Montana.  Now we’re challenging them in West Virginia on behalf of Arty Vogt.  ...

The Washington Post has published my op-ed regarding our newest Competitor’s Veto lawsuit on behalf of entrepreneur Arty Vogt. As you may remember, Arty owns a moving company based in Virginia, just miles from the West Virginia border. Arty started working for the business after graduating from college, and eventually, he and his wife Stefani ...

This morning the West Virginia legislature passed a bill repealing their Certificate of Need law, also known as a “Competitor’s Veto” law.  Formerly, anybody who wanted to start a moving business there essentially had to ask their competitors for permission first.  When a budding entrepreneur applied for authority to operate a m ...

It’s a good day for economic liberty.  Governor Justice has signed SB 174—or as Arty Vogt calls it, “Stephanie’s law,”—which repeals West Virginia’s Competitor’s Veto statute. PLF represented Arty in a lawsuit challenging West Virginia’s licensing scheme for movers, which allowed existing busin ...