Economic Liberty Cases
Economic Liberty | Education Entrepreneurship
Education Entrepreneur Fights for Her Innovative Hybrid School
Katy Duckstein runs a hybrid homeschool program in Pennsylvania, but the state wants to bury her in red tape.
Cosmetology | Economic Liberty
South Carolina Mobile Beauty
The Case Brandi Rosemond wants to run a mobile beauty salon. And she’s done everything you’d expect to get her business off the ground. She went to beauty school and learned…
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Small and Home-Based Business | Zoning Justice Project
Washington Physical Therapist Sues Leavenworth for the Right to Run a Small In-home Practice in Her Own Home
The town of Leavenworth, Wa. banned Nicole Bulow’s quiet, home-based physical therapy practice — while permitting nearly identical home businesses like massage therapy and salons. Now she's fighting back.
Economic Liberty
Texas Entrepreneur Fights a City’s Unconstitutional Dumpster Monopoly
The Texas Constitution forbids monopolies. So, a Waxahachie dumpster rental company is suing after the city granted a monopoly to a single national waste company.
Economic Liberty | Education Entrepreneurship | Occupational Licensing
Private School, Teacher, and Parent Fight for Integrity, Innovation, and the Century-Old Promise of Freedom
The Case When Capstone Classical Academy opened in Fargo, North Dakota, in 2022, its goal was simple: hire the best teachers possible. At first, the school focused on finding talented educators…
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property
Pennsylvania real estate broker files lawsuit challenging law requiring brokers to have brick-and-mortar offices
Pennsylvania real estate broker Kevin Gaughen has filed a lawsuit alongside the Institute for Justice challenging a law requiring brokers in Pennsylvania to have brick-and-mortar offices.
Commercial Speech | Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Sign Codes
Institute for Justice joins lawsuit defending family bar threatened with fines and even jail time for using “barbershop” theme to honor owners’ late father
The Case When Mike DiGiacomo and his siblings wanted to remodel the speakeasy bar they run in downtown Omaha, he wanted a theme that would honor their dad, Don “Don the…
Commercial Speech | Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing
Small Business Challenges Oklahoma's Unconstitutional Restrictions on Casket Sales
Small business challenges Oklahoma's unconstitutional restrictions on casket sales
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Small and Home-Based Business | Zoning Justice Project
Swim Instructor Sues After City Changed Its Tune and Banned Her Backyard Business
Libby Souder legally taught swim lessons in her backyard for years, then Columbia, S.C. changed its tune and banned her business.
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom | Private Property | Zoning Justice Project
Maine Family Sues to Keep Chickens After City Ban
A family is using Maine's first-in-the-nation Right to Food amendment to challenge a small town ordinance effectively bans backyard chickens.
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom
Institute for Justice Partners with Wildtype and UPSIDE Foods to Sue Texas to End Ban on Sale of Cultivated Meat
Wildtype and UPSIDE Foods challenge Texas's ban on cultivated meat. Texas’ ban is about one thing: protecting in-state agricultural interest from innovative, out-of-state competition.
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Small and Home-Based Business | Zoning Justice Project
Home Auto Shop Owners File Constitutional Challenge After Township Threatens to Shut Business Following Dispute with Township Supervisor
A Pennsylvania man who has operated an auto repair business on his 16-acre property for 24 years faces shutdown from the township zoning board.
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Zoning Justice Project
She Spent Her Life Savings to Open a New Salon, Zoning Is Dashing Her Dreams
In Clayton County, Georgia, government officials blocked Khalilah Few from opening her natural hair salon—simply because they didn't think it’s the “right fit” for the neighborhood.
Economic Liberty | Fresh Start
Denied the Right to Work, Texas Women Sue State to End Unconstitutional Ban for Social Work
Two woman who overcame addiction and earned master's degrees in social work challenge a Texas law that permanently bars them from helping others because of old convictions.
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Zoning Justice Project
Hair Braider Sues After City Blocks Her Business for Providing Too Much Competition with Existing Shops
In America, the government doesn’t get to pick winners and losers in the marketplace. Businesses compete, and the consumer ultimately decides which services or products they want. The idea that anyone…
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom
Institute for Justice Files Lawsuit Challenging Florida’s Ban on Cultivated Meat
Florida banned cultivated meat to protect its cattle industry from competition, but the Constitution prohibits states from closing their borders to innovative out-of-state products.
Economic Liberty | Fresh Start
Virginia Woman Challenges Permanent Punishment Preventing Her from Working as a Substance Abuse Counselor
Virginia bars people with old criminal records from becoming substance abuse counselors, even when they've turned their lives around.
Commercial Speech | Economic Liberty | First Amendment
Small Business Owner Sues Illinois for the Right to Help Property Owners Claim Their Lost Property
Illinois demanded David Knott get a private detective license—complete with training in crime scenes and firearms—just to help people recover their forgotten property.
Economic Liberty
Small Dairies Fight Back After Oregon Department of Agriculture Applies Needless Rules at Request of Big Dairies
Small dairies are suing the Oregon Department of Agriculture after it applied rules meant for big dairies. The change came at the request of the dairy industry, not because of health or safety concerns.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation | Immunity and Accountability | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property
Virginia food truck owners file federal lawsuit after raging town councilmember damaged truck, town council repeatedly harassed them
Theslet Benoir and Clemene Bastien are a married couple that immigrated to the United States from Haiti in 2005. They received asylum, settled in Parksley, Virginia, and opened a brick-and-mortar store that caters to the needs of the Eastern Shore’s Haitian population. But the town repeatedly harassed them, so they teamed up with IJ to file a federal lawsuit.
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Small and Home-Based Business | Zoning Justice Project
Michigan Couple File Lawsuit Against Brooks Township For Violating Michigan Constitutional Right To Open Business
A Michigan couple fight Brooks Township's ban on new cemeteries, enacted specifically to stop them from opening a conservation burial ground on their own property.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Speech
North Carolina Nonprofit and Paralegals Sue State Over First Amendment Right to Give Legal Advice
North Carolina nonprofit and paralegals challenge state's ban on nonlawyers providing legal advice, which prevents them from helping people complete simple court forms.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
California Regulators Put Anti-spam Crusader Out of Business
Jay Fink has a simple business. If you’re a Californian getting too much spam, he’ll look through your junk folder and pull out the emails that might violate California’s anti-spam law.
Economic Liberty | Fresh Start
Maryland small business owner files federal lawsuit against USDA over policy of permanent punishment for crime for which he already served his time
When the government judges someone’s integrity, it should do so based on who they are today—not who they were 20 years ago. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), however, imposes…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Private Property | Vending
Small Business Owners Sue to Strike Down Jacksonville Regulations Effectively Banning Food Trucks From City
Jacksonville, North Carolina effectively bans food trucks from operating in 96 percent of the city. That's why a group of small business owners has teamed up with the Institute for Justice to file a lawsuit challenging Jacksonville's regulations.
Economic Liberty
Woman Challenges Arizona City's Ban on Feeding People for "Charitable Purposes"
Norma Thornton was arrested for feeding the hungry in Bullhead City Community Park. Now, Norma has teamed up with IJ to fight back against Bullhead's law criminalizing charitable sharing in federal court.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Entrepreneur Fined $1,000 for Using Public Information to Draw Lines on Maps Files Federal Lawsuit Against California
Do you need a government license to trace a map from publicly available data? It might sound ridiculous, but in California the answer is “yes.” An entrepreneur joined with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to file a federal lawsuit challenging these regulations because they violate his First Amendment rights.
Cosmetology | Economic Liberty
Licensed Eyelash Extension Specialist Sues for Right to Do Job
Brandy Davis is a licensed eyelash extension specialist who is being blocked from doing her job by the Oklahoma Board of Cosmetology and Licensing. She's suing in state court to challenge the board's licensing requirements.
Economic Liberty | Fresh Start
Feds Threaten to End Only Black Radio Station in Knoxville Over Owner’s Personal Tax Conviction
Joe Armstrong brought Black community focused radio back on the air in Knoxville, Tennessee. Now he's fighting the FCC for his license, not for anything he put out over the air, but for an old personal tax conviction.
Economic Liberty | Hair Braiding | Occupational Licensing
Three Idaho Women Challenge State’s Requirement for Hair Braiders to Obtain Cosmetology License
Three braiders in Idaho challenged state requirements to spend thousands of dollars and a year of their lives for an unnecessary license.