Private Property Cases
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Phoenix-area small business files federal lawsuit after federal agents raid business, seize money
The Case On the morning of Feb. 25, 2025, Mario Ayala was in Mexico visiting his dying father. Unfortunately, Mario had to cut that trip short. The reason? Federal agents…
Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property | Zoning Justice Project
Connecticut family takes legal action after town threatens to ban them from having hikers on property
Connecticut family takes legal action after town threatens to ban them from having hikers on property.
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.
Private Property | Zoning Justice Project
Retiree’s Construction of Dream Home Blocked by Nonsensical Zoning from City After Decades of Planning
Art Yatsko has been working towards a dream for the last 20 years. But as Art was ready to begin construction, he was told he could no longer build a modest single-family home in his neighborhood—it had been rezoned, along with every other open lot of land in his neighborhood.
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.
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…
Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Zoning Justice Project
Lighthouse Sues Wenatchee for Shuttering Soup Kitchen to Satisfy Politically Connected Complainers
Lighthouse Christian Ministries is suing after Wenatchee officials revoked the soup kitchen's permit without warning, shutting down a vital resource that served 75-100 people daily.
Private Property
Miami's Unconstitutional Land Taking Scheme Targets More Than a Thousand Homeowners Across the City
A Miami homeowner and Navy veteran is challenging the city's practice of demanding that permit applicants surrender portions of their property without just compensation.
Private Property | Rental Caps
Lawsuit Challenges New York Law That Keeps Apartments Off the Market During a Housing Crisis
Small property owners challenge New York's rent stabilization laws on vacant apartments, which keep tens of thousands of units empty amid a housing crisis.
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.
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
U.S. Citizen Demands End to Unconstitutional Raids and Detentions
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 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 | 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.
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…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Stiffed by a Pipeline Company Wielding Eminent Domain, Plains Ranchers Appeal to U.S. Supreme Court
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 places property owners in a Catch-22 when it comes to getting a fair price: accept a low-ball offer for their land or fight for a fair price out of their own pocket.
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.
Housing Abundance and Affordability | Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Zoning Justice Project
Institute for Justice Sues Blaine, Minn., Over Illegal Denial of Permit for Family’s Backyard Home to Aid a Family in Need
A couple sought to build an accessory dwelling unit to rent at below-market rates to a family in need, but Blaine, Minnesota, unlawfully denied their permit.
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Local Small Business Developer Sues South Carolina Town Trying to Take His Property
A native of James Island, South Carolina, wants to develop thoughtful properties in his hometown. The town took his land using eminent domain based on a pretext.
Eminent Domain | Private Property
New Jersey Properties Blighted Just Because City Wants Them, Not Because Anything is Wrong With Them
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.
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
Alabama Residents File Lawsuit Challenging Statute Permitting Game Wardens to Search Private Property Without Warrant
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.
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property | Rule of Law | SWAT Destruction
Innocent Family Seeks to Hold SWAT Team Accountable for Raiding the Wrong Home
A North Carolina family is seeking to hold SWAT teams accountable for raiding the wrong home in April 2024.
Eminent Domain | Private Property
New Petition Asks Supreme Court to Overturn Infamous Kelo Eminent Domain Decision
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…
Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Right to Shelter | Zoning Justice Project
With Winter Coming, the Institute for Justice Sues Kalispell, Montana, to Keep Warming Shelter Open
The Flathead Warming Center—an emergency shelter in Kalispell, Montana—suffered a cruel blow as winter approaches. On September 16, 2024, the Kalispell City Council voted 6-3 to revoke the Warming Center’s permit,…
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
Pennsylvania man files federal lawsuit challenging law allowing Fish and Boat Commission to enter property without warrant
A Pennsylvania man is challenging a state law that gives "fish cops" broad power to enter private property without a warrant after an officer repeatedly trespassed at his lakeside cabin.
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.
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…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Family Jewelry Business Fights Back to End Predatory Civil Forfeitures at Indianapolis FedEx Hub
Henry and Minh Cheng, who run a wholesale jewelry business, are fighting Indiana to keep money a customer sent them through FedEx. Indiana police seized the money and prosecutors are trying to take it through civil forfeiture without saying what the couple did wrong.
Immunity and Accountability | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property
Courts Say City Owes Her Over $200,000; But Now She Has to Sue Again to Get Paid
Courts say Okay, Oklahoma owes Melisa Robinson for damaging her property. But the city won't pay. That violates her Fifth Amendment right to just compensation.
First Amendment Retaliation | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Murphy v. Schmitt
Have you ever heard of someone being arrested and sent to jail for walking on the wrong side of the road? Probably not — because police officers never, or almost never,…
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
Lawsuit Challenges Warrantless Searches of Land
Louisiana game wardens have entered Tom Manuel's land uninvited and without a warrant multiple times. He's asking courts to follow the Louisiana Constitution and protect private property from unreasonable searches.
