Fines and Fees Cases
Fines and Fees | Private Property | Rule of Law
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will decide whether the government’s fining a retiree out of his life’s savings for a paperwork violation is an “excessive fine.”
The Case Eighty-eight-year-old retiree Tuncay Saydam is at risk of losing his life’s savings. Not because of a bad investment or a fraudulent scheme. Rather, the federal government is trying to…
Fines and Fees | Rule of Law
Alaska Pilot Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Stop State from Taking His $95,000 Airplane for Passenger’s Beer
The Case April 3rd, 2012, began like any other day for Ken Jouppi, a longtime bush pilot in Alaska. He was scheduled to fly a passenger and her groceries from Fairbanks…
Code Enforcement | Fines and Fees | Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Zoning Justice Project
Albuquerque Bookstore Owner Partners with IJ to Defend Right to Provide Safe, Private Shelter
Gil Kerley, owner of Quirky Used Books & More in Albuquerque, New Mexico, sought to address the city’s worsening homelessness crisis by providing a safe and private space for homeless people…
Fines and Fees | Private Property | Rule of Law
Santa Clara Winery Sues to End Unconstitutional Zoning Code Fines
Owners of a historic vineyard and winery provided safe, affordable housing for their long-time employee and his family. For that, they have been fined more than $120,000.
Fines and Fees | Private Property | Rule of Law
California County Caught Fining Innocent Homeowners $10,000 Per Day for Offenses They Did Not Commit
In Humboldt County, the government issues ruinous fines for things people didn’t do because it doesn’t bother to investigate. Innocent landowners then have to appeal the fines to prove their innocence…
Fines and Fees | Private Property | Rule of Law
Homeowner Fights Back Against NYC's "Unreviewable" Fines System
Serafim Katergaris was forced to pay $1,000 to the New York Department of Buildings (DOB) for a code violation he did not commit, did not know about and had no chance to challenge. Now, he's fighting back.
Fines and Fees | Private Property | Rule of Law
Federal Government Seeks to Impose Multimillion Dollar Excessive Fine on Grandmother, Claiming a Fine is a “Civil Penalty.”
An Boston-area grandmother is fighting to have courts consider whether the multimillion-dollar penalty the government imposed on is unconstitutionally excessive.
Fines and Fees | Private Property | Rule of Law
People Abused by Small Town’s “Policing for Profit” File Class Action Seeking Accountability
Victims of Brookside, Alabama's policing abuses filed a class action to affirm that police must act in the interest of justice, not their pocketbooks.
Fines and Fees | Private Property | Rule of Law
Challenging Wilmington’s tow-and-impound racket, which pays private tow companies by letting them keep and scrap cars.
Wilmington, Delaware partners with a private towing company to tow any car that has more than $200 in unpaid parking fines. The private company makes a profit and Wilmington demands excessive fines in order to get a car back. The disproportionate fines violate the due process rights of citizens, and IJ seeks to end this entire unconstitutional program.
Fines and Fees | Private Property | Rule of Law
Homeowner Facing $100,000 Parking Violation Sues Florida Town for “Excessive Fines”
Sandy Martinez received more than $100,000 in fines for how she parked on her own driveway. This excessive fine not only threatens to financially cripple Sandy, it’s also unconstitutional and is the reason she has partnered with IJ.
Fines and Fees | Private Property | Rule of Law
New York Permit Fines
Joe Corsini keeps a pigeon coop on the roof of his home, like many other New Yorkers. The city’s Department of Buildings saddled him with thousands of dollars in fines for not having a license for the coop. He was then hit with multiple more fines while working with the city, so he decided to enlist the help of IJ to fight back against this violation of his due process rights.
Fines and Fees | Private Property | Rule of Law
Small Wisconsin Town Weaponizes Code Enforcement to Enrich a Private Law Firm and Target Its Critics
The town of Eagle, WI works with a private law firm to punish residents who speak out against town officials by hitting them with excessive fines and fees through the code enforcement process. Victims of this corrupt system have joined with IJ to push back and say: prosecutors must serve the public interest, not their own pocketbooks.
Fines and Fees | Private Property
Washington Street Fees
Linda Cameron wanted to add a bedroom and bathroom to her modest home, but the city of Richland told her she’d first have to pay for renovations to the city’s streets adjoining her property. The city agreed to change its unconstitutional law after Linda enlisted the help of IJ to challenge the law.
Fines and Fees | Private Property | Rule of Law
Florida Man Could Lose His Home For Having Long Grass
Nobody should lose their home because their grass is too long, but that’s exactly what the city of Dunedin is trying to do to Jim Ficken. Jim and IJ are fighting back against these excessive fines and fees in court, to protect the property rights of everyone.
Fines and Fees | Private Property | Rule of Law
The Windy City Tows the Cars of Innocent People and Holds Them for Ransom
Chicago is towing the cars of innocent people and holding them for ransom. Victims of this unjust system are taking a stand, with IJ’s help, and calling for an end to this impound racket.
Fines and Fees | Private Property | Rule of Law
Police Must Serve and Protect, Not Ticket to Collect
The Supreme Court has made it clear that it is unconstitutional for a justice system to be influenced by perverse incentives to raise municipal revenue. That’s why two Doraville homeowners and two Doraville drivers have partnered with the IJ to shut down the city’s unconstitutional practice of policing for profit.
Code Enforcement | Fines and Fees | Private Property
Eminent Domain in Disguise: Putting an End to Charlestown, Ind.’s Unconstitutional Home Inspection Scheme
A small-town mayor in rural Indiana has made it his personal mission to oust the residents of a tight-knit working-class neighborhood, bulldoze their homes and build a fancy new subdivision for much wealthier people. The only things standing in his way are a plethora of state statutes, the Indiana and U.S. constitutions and IJ, which has filed a lawsuit against the city on behalf of dozens of property owners.
Fines and Fees | Private Property | Rule of Law
