Economic Liberty Cases
Economic Liberty | Health
Indiana Bans Online Eye Tests to Protect Established Businesses from Competition
Indiana bans healthcare providers from conducting online eye tests, to protect established businesses from competition.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation | Transportation
Coast Guard-empowered private association concocts reasons to keep an experienced captain from working
Captain Matthew Hight thought he would earn a living navigating cargo carriers on the Great Lakes. Instead, an unholy alliance of a federal bureaucracy and a legalized monopoly suddenly rendered him a castaway. Now he’s launching a second voyage with the IJ to get his job back and ensure that no one else has their livelihood taken away because the government has delegated lawmaking power to a self-interested private organization.
Economic Liberty | Vending
Texas Food Trucks Sue for Right to Compete on South Padre Island
South Padre Island caps the number of food trucks in town at 12 and requires that all food trucks have a restaurant owner’s sign off on their permit applications. The Texas Constitution prevents the government from picking winners and losers, which is why food truck operators have partnered with IJ to challenge the regulation.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Speech
License to Teach? Virginia Stops Family Business From Teaching Useful Job Skills
Jon and Tracy McGlothian wanted to teach job skills to adults in Virginia, but the state told them they could not do so without a license. With IJ’s help, Jon and Tracy were able to successfully challenge this unconstitutional law and begin enrolling students.
Economic Liberty
Can States Bar Newcomers from Owning a Business?
A Tennessee law required that in order to open a liquor store, one must be a Tennessee resident for two years. With help from IJ, Doug and Mary Ketchum challenged this law, bringing it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the law was struck down as unconstitutional.
Cosmetology | Economic Liberty | Fresh Start | Occupational Licensing
Law Denies Women Right to Work Because of Irrelevant Criminal Convictions
A Pennsylvania law prevented Amanda and Courtney from earning an honest living because of unrelated criminal records. After IJ stepped in to defend their rights, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled this law was unconstitutional.
Economic Liberty | Vending
Food Truck Owners Challenge One of the Most Anti-Competitive Vending Restrictions in the Country
Fort Pierce, Florida used to have an incredibly restrictive rule that banned food trucks from operating within 500 feet of a brick-and-mortar restaurant. After two food truck operators partnered with IJ, a court ruled the ordinance was unconstitutional and the city repealed it.
Economic Liberty | Vending
No Meals on Wheels—Wisconsin Town Stops Family Business From Operating State-Licensed Food Truck on Its Own Private Property
The town of Gibraltar and Door County, Wisconsin once had full-blown ban on food vending trucks, that is until IJ stepped in. After hearing IJ’s case on behalf of food truck operators, a Door County Circuit Court judge ruled the ban violated the Wisconsin Constitution.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Health | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Texas Veterinarian Renews Fight to Give Professional Advice Online
Ron Hines is a veterinarian who offers advice online to customers all over the country, but Texas said his speech was illegal. Now his case can move ahead on First Amendment grounds.
Economic Liberty | Vending
Food-Truck Owners Challenge Ban on Competition
In late August 2018, a little over a week after IJ launched a lawsuit, challenging Carolina Beach’s food truck restrictions, the town repealed its food truck restrictions due to the threat of IJ’s lawsuit.
Economic Liberty | Health
North Carolina CONs Patients: Outdated Law Prevents Doctor From Providing Transparently Priced, Low-Cost MRI Scans
In Spring 2020, Dr. Gajendra Singh had to close his imaging center, in part because of the enormous costs imposed by the CON law. As a result, Dr. Singh’s lawsuit could not continue, but shortly thereafter IJ joined up with an ophthalmologist from New Bern, NC, to file a new challenge to North Carolina’s CON law.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Mississippi Regulatory Board Sues Tech Entrepreneurs to Prevent Competition
An overly-broad statute defined a small mapping company in Mississippi as an “unlicensed surveying” company. This statute would have shut down Vizaline, but with help from IJ, Vizaline fought back to protect its First Amendment right to generate and disseminate information to advise their clients.
Economic Liberty | Health | Occupational Licensing
Breastfeeding Battle: IJ Defeats Georgia's License for Lactation Consultants
For decades, Mary Jackson has worked as a lactation consultant, helping new moms and babies during a critical time in their lives. Then one day, Georgia passed the nation’s most restrictive licensing regime for lactation counselors, shutting down her business. Mary and a nonprofit dedicated to providing breastfeeding support to minority communities, teamed up with IJ to fight back against this ridiculous licensure scheme.
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
D.C. Parents and Day Care Providers Sue to Stop Rule Requiring Providers to Earn College Degree to Watch Kids
D.C. recently decided to require day care workers to have a college degree. This is an unreasonable regulation drives up child care costs and deprives day care workers of their ability to earn an honest living, which is why two providers have teamed up with IJ to challenge this law.
Commercial Speech | Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Food Freedom | Food Freedom
Maryland Dairy Farmers Sue for Right to Tell the Truth
The FDA prevented Randy Sowers from labelling his skim milk as “skim milk” even though that’s exactly what it is. The First Amendment protects Randy’s right to tell the truth about his product, and after IJ stepped in to help, the FDA decided to end this enforcement.
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom
New Jersey Bakers Challenge State Ban on Selling Home-Baked Goods
Up until 2021, New Jersey was the only state in the country that prevented home bakers from selling homemade baked goods. After years of litigation from IJ and several home bakers, New Jersey finally ended this absurd ban.
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Small and Home-Based Business | Zoning Justice Project
Nashville Home-Based Businesses Challenge Burdensome Restrictions
Lij Shaw and Pat Raynor both run successful businesses within their own homes – one a recording studio, the other a hair salon. But one day, the city of Nashville threatened them with fines unless they shut their businesses down. Instead, they teamed up with IJ to vindicate their rights to use their homes to earn a living.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Speech
Lawsuit Challenges California Law Criminalizing Teaching Trade Skills
California used to require individuals to get a high school degree or equivalent if they wanted to enroll in a trade school, like Bob Smith’s horseshoeing school. After IJ stepped in on Bob’s behalf, the California legislature changed its law, securing a win for Bob and the First Amendment.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Florida Health Coach Threatened with Jail and Big Fines for Merely Offering Dietary Advice
Florida requires a license in order to provide dietary advice to a customer. Diet advice is simply a type of speech that should be protected by the First Amendment, and that’s why Heather Kokesch Del Castillo is working with IJ to sue the state over its unconstitutional licensing scheme.
Cosmetology | Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
License to Teach: North Carolina Forces Makeup Artists to Teach Unrelated Skills or Face Thousands in Fines
Jasna Bukvic-Bhayani is a North Carolina-based professional makeup artist who wanted to open up a school to teach others how to apply makeup like her. But the state wanted her to open a full-fledged esthetics school, which would cost her hours of classes and thousands of dollars. After six months of litigating, the Board agreed to allow stand-alone makeup schools to operate without an unnecessary, government-issued license.
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
AirBnB Property Manager Files Constitutional Challenge To Pa. Real Estate Licensing Regime
Sally helps people list their homes for short-term vacation rentals, but one day she received a call from the Pennsylvania Department of State arguing she was engaging in unlicensed real estate. She was told she would need to spend three years working for an established broker, pass two exams, and set up her own brick-and-mortar office in Pennsylvania. Instead, she enlisted the help of IJ to fight back against this unreasonable restriction on her economic liberty.
Economic Liberty | Vending
Derby City Betting Against Food Trucks
City Council members in Louisville worked closely with established brick-and-mortar restaurants to keep out food truck competition. IJ secured a federal court order barring the city from discriminating against food trucks and then successfully worked to prevent a city council member from undermining the order.
Economic Liberty | Health
Ending Iowa's CON Laws That Limit Medical Options and Enrich Established Businesses
For more than twenty years, Dr. Lee Birchansky tried to offer his patients the option of having their cataract and other outpatient eye surgeries in a center right next to his office in Cedar Rapids. But the state of Iowa stymied his efforts to open his own surgery center, forcing him to perform these surgeries at his competitors’ facilities.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Illegal Math? A state board in Oregon is punishing people for talking about traffic lights and any other “engineering” topics
Mats Järlström is an engineer, and he used those skills to criticize the formula used on red lights, suggesting the yellow lights should last a little longer. He was hit with a $500 fine from the state of Oregon and told he could not refer to himself as an “engineer.” After fighting back, with help from IJ, a court held that Mats could safely talk about his traffic-light theories. And the court further held that the state cannot punish Mats—or anyone else—for describing themselves truthfully using the word “engineer.”
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom | Wine
Minnesota Farm Wineries Fight for Free Trade
A little-known but onerous state law prevented Minnesota vineyards from making a majority of their wine from grapes grown outside Minnesota. IJ partnered with two vineyards to fight this law, and eventually a federal district court ruled that cap violated the Constitution, and vineyards were freed from this prohibition.
Economic Liberty | Health | Occupational Licensing
South Carolina Clamps Down On Online Medicine to Protect Profits of Established Businesses
Cosmetology | Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Hanging by a Thread: Louisiana Eyebrow Threaders Fight for the Right to Earn an Honest Living
Lata Jagtiani, Ushaben Chudasama and Panna Shah have partnered with the Institute for Justice to fight for her right to earn an honest living threading eyebrows in Louisiana.
Economic Liberty | Vending
Food Truck Entrepreneurs Sue City Over Vending Law
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Burying Alabama’s Casket-Sales Cartel
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing | Transportation
