The Nebraska Supreme Court issues a ruling on “just compensation” for home equity theft victims, Yuval Levin’s book raises questions about the Constitution, and an Austin restaurateur battles the Department of Labor.

Here’s what’s on The Docket. 

Two more PLF clients find justice after the government stole from them  

Kevin Fair and Sandra Nieveen both fell behind on property taxes and lost their homes in foreclosures that robbed them of far more than they owed. Now, a year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled home equity theft unconstitutional in PLF’s Tyler case, the Nebraska Supreme Court says Kevin and Sandra are owed just compensation for the difference between what they owed (plus interest and fees) and the value of the homes that were taken. “We are thrilled that after years of litigation, Nebraska finally recognizes Kevin Fair’s and Sandra Nieveen’s right to their hard-earned equity,” PLF attorney Christina Martin said of the decision.

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Why a new book about the Constitution made an attorney think of earthquakes

After reading Yuval Levin’s new book American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Country—and Could Again, PLF attorney Molly Nixon started thinking about earthquakes: specifically, how buildings must have foundations that move with the earth while keeping the structure stable. She writes: “This concept of flux and tension, the push and pull of living together peacefully while maintaining our disagreements, coaxed me toward the fundamental perspective that I needed to accept to appreciate the wisdom of the Constitution: There’s no end-goal other than peaceful coexistence.”

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Swampbuster forces farmers to give up their rights or risk financial ruin  

Nearly 40 years ago, Congress enacted the Food Security Act of 1985, a comprehensive bill about farming. Included in this bill were wetland conservation provisions that govern how farmers must treat wetlands on their property. Despite the name of the bill, these provisions—colloquially known as “Swampbuster”—threaten food security by overregulating the farmers that provide food to the nation, PLF attorney Jeff McCoy says. 

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Dallas Morning News: Austin restaurateur is challenging Labor Department’s overreach

Congress didn’t give the Department of Labor the right to set salary requirements. But that’s what the agency is doing: A new rule will increase minimum compensation for salaried employees to $58,656, starting in January. Robert Mayfield, the owner of 13 Dairy Queen franchises in and around Austin, is now suing the Department of Labor over the rule. PLF attorneys Luke Wake and Frank Garrison write in The Dallas Morning News about the case, which Luke argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit earlier this month. 

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New PLF report shows Congress can address unconstitutional agency tribunals without overwhelming federal courts

If a federal agency accuses you of breaking the law, you should be able to have your case heard by a federal court. But too often agencies instead prosecute Americans in their in-house tribunals, without a jury or independent judge. A new report from PLF looks at the problem of in-house adjudication and makes the case for enshrining “a right to remove for the accused.”

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American Bar Association: The least-dangerous branch of government 

Last year’s Supreme Court’s term likely will be remembered in history books as a turning point for the constitutional separation of powers, writes Elizabeth Slattery, director of Constitutional Scholarship at PLF. Major rulings in Loper Bright, Corner Post, and Jarkesy will work in concert to limit the power of the administrative state. Critics have proclaimed loudly that the Supreme Court grabbed power for itself; but the Court actually just said “no” to power grabs by federal agencies, Elizabeth explains.

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