Private Property Cases
Private Property | Zoning Justice Project
North Port Restrictive Zoning
Art Yatsko is like a lot of Americans in their 60s. After decades of hard work and saving, he wants to slow down—to retire somewhere quiet, peaceful, and warm. He thought North Port, Florida, was…
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property
Pennsylvania Real Estate Office Requirement
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.
Fines and Fees | Private Property
United States v. Saydam
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 fine Tuncay over $437,000—because he unintentionally…
4th Amendment Project | License Plate Readers | Private Property
San Jose License Plate Readers
San Jose residents file federal class action lawsuit challenging city's use of nearly 500 license plate read cameras.
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Georgia Botched Raid
An ordinary, quiet morning turned into a nightmare for Cathy George. More than a dozen heavily armed law enforcement officers stormed her apartment, looking for a fugitive who had no connection to Cathy and who…
Fines and Fees | Private Property
Triple R Administrative Appeal
The U.S. Department of Labor is seeking to impose over $70,000 in penalties and back wages on Triple R Farms—a small tobacco farm in Berry, Kentucky, run by married couple David and Debbie Ross—based on…
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Maine Mistaken Identity
Body camera footage of the arrest What began as an ordinary school day in Portland, Maine, spiraled into a terrifying and traumatic ordeal after a teenager was mistakenly identified by police, leaving him shaken…
Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Zoning Justice Project
Wenatchee Soup Kitchen
Hungry people in Wenatchee, Washington, are facing the winter cold without the hot meals they once relied on after the city abruptly shut down Lighthouse Christian Ministries’ soup kitchen last summer. The city did this…
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
McKinnon v. Hernandez
A Dallas bar owner asks the Supreme Court to deny immunity to the police detective who led a bogus investigation against him.
Miami Permit Takings
Chad Trausch and his wife’s family was growing, so he decided to expand his Miami home. But when he submitted plans for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom addition, the city came back with a strange request: it…
Private Property | Rental Caps
NYC Vacant Apartments
New York City has a housing shortage. At the same time, tens of thousands of apartments sit vacant because New York’s Rent Stabilization Law (NYRSL) makes it economically unfeasible for building owners to lease them. The NYRSL was originally enacted in the 1970s as an emergency measure…
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Small and Home-Based Business | Zoning Justice Project
Columbia, South Carolina Home Swim Lessons
Libby Souder legally taught swim lessons in her backyard for years, then Columbia, S.C. changed its tune and banned her business.
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
George Retes Federal Officer Accountability
George Retes, a U.S. citizen and Iraq War veteran, was detained for three days after encountering an ICE roadblock on his way to work.
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Alabama Construction Site Raids
A U.S. citizen, who was wrongly detained twice, is suing to stop unconstitutional raids on private construction sites.
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom | Private Property | Zoning Justice Project
Maine Backyard Chickens
Kamiwan Oliver and her family raise chickens for their eggs and meat to lessen the burden of grocery bills on their tight family budget. The Olivers’ tidy coop sits in their backyard, and each day…
Fines and Fees | Private Property
Jouppi v. Alaska
April 3, 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 110 miles north to the village…
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Small and Home-Based Business | Zoning Justice Project
Pennsylvania Home Auto Shop
Zoning laws were never meant to give government the power to erase a harmless, beloved 24-year-old business. Yet that’s exactly what North Whitehall Township is doing to Gene and Debbie Weierbach’s auto repair shop—weaponizing the…
Code Enforcement | Fines and Fees | Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Zoning Justice Project
Albuquerque Homelessness
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 to sleep on his…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Leonard Hoffmann v. WBI Energy Transmission
North Dakota ranchers fought a pipeline company with eminent domain power for the fair value of their land. But an appeals court said the company did not have to pay the ranchers' attorney fees. That…
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Zoning Justice Project
Clayton County, Georgia Protectionist Zoning
Bureaucrats don’t build communities—people do, with purpose, hard work, and a dream. But in Clayton County, Georgia, government officials are shutting down Khalilah Few’s dream by blocking her from opening her natural hair salon—simply because…
Housing Abundance and Affordability | Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Zoning Justice Project
Minnesota ADU
Alex and Lynda Pepin believe in using what they have to help others. So when their hometown—Blaine, Minnesota—recently passed a law allowing homeowners to build backyard homes (known as accessory dwelling units, or ADUs), they…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
James Island Eminent Domain
Imagine a developer who thoughtfully deliberates about what type of business would be best suited for an area. He meets with residents to address their concerns. He painstakingly implements every suggestion, even if he doesn’t…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Perth Amboy, NJ Blight
Honey Meerzon and Luis Romero came from different backgrounds but have many things in common. Their parents both fled oppressive government regimes in search of a better life for their children. They have both worked…
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Arizona Mistaken Identity Arrest
Penny McCarthy was mistaken for another woman and violently arrested by armed U.S. Marshals. She is suing over the violation of her Fourth Amendment rights.
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Mendenhall v. Denver
The Fourth Amendment requires that warrants be supported by "oath or affirmation" but that requirement means almost nothing today because of a decades old Supreme Court decision. Michael Mendenhall's case could revive the original meaning…
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
Alabama Open Fields
Three northern Alabama residents have teamed up to file a lawsuit challenging a statute that allows game wardens to trespass on private property without a warrant.
4th Amendment Project | Economic Liberty | Private Property
FinCEN Border Cash Surveillance
Esperanza Gomez and Arnoldo Gonzalez, Jr. run small businesses near the U.S.-Mexico border that provide everyday, small-dollar financial services—often for customers without bank accounts. In San Diego, Esperanza helps customers cash checks (often to buy…
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property | SWAT Destruction
North Carolina SWAT Destruction
A North Carolina family is seeking to hold SWAT teams accountable for raiding the wrong home in April 2024.
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Bowers v. Oneida County Industrial Development Agency
Can the government take your property just to hand it over to your business competitor? That is the question New York developer Bryan Bowers asked the United States Supreme Court after New York’s courts said…
4th Amendment Project | License Plate Readers | Private Property
Norfolk, VA Camera Surveillance
Norfolk, Virginia has installed more than 170 cameras across the city that watch drivers' every movement. Now, two Norfolk-area residents have teamed up with the Institute for Justice to file a federal lawsuit challenging the…