A horseracing group challenges “delegation in its most obnoxious form”; a family-owned business earns a small victory in its battle against the administrative state; and PLF brings home its second real estate industry award.

Here’s what’s on The Docket. 

Government admits lack of evidence in Clean Water Act case 

Dan Ward’s rural Iowa property includes a small, dry groove. But government officials called it a “seasonal river" when they inspected it after a rainstorm and found, unsurprisingly, puddles. They told Dan he’d have to pay over $100,000 in mitigation credits because (according to them) the land was protected by the Clean Water Act. But when PLF helped Dan appeal to a higher office, new officials admitted that the initial finding wasn’t backed by evidence.

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Horseracing group challenges the constitutionality of a private regulatory body

This week, a group of leaders in the horseracing industry asked the Supreme Court to consider their challenge to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA). 

HISA, a private regulatory authority, was empowered by Congress in 2020 to create industry rules, investigate violations, and even levy industry bans and potentially ruinous fines, all without government oversight. PLF is representing the petitioners free of charge as they fight back against the government’s unconstitutional delegation of government power to a private entity—which the Supreme Court once deemed “delegation in its most obnoxious form.”

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How the Consumer Product Safety Commission targeted Leachco and lost

In January 2022, the CPSC published a statement on its website calling a small family-owned business’s product a “hazard.” The Commission warned people not to use it and eventually sued the company, Leachco, alleging that their product (the Podster) presented a “substantial product hazard.” 

An administrative law judge recently dismissed claims brought by the Commission, but the original statement tarnishing the company’s reputation can still be found on the Commission’s website. PLF senior attorney Oliver Dunford provides an update on Leachco’s plight, illustrating the dangers of unelected officials that have the power to target small companies without being held accountable. 

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PLF brings home its second real estate industry prize for article of the year  

PLF senior attorney Brian Hodges was recently awarded The Jared Shlaes Prize for 2024 by The Counselors of Real Estate (CRE) for his article “Build-to-Rent Homes: A Promising Solution to Chronic Housing Shortages,” marking the second time in as many years that a PLF attorney has brought home the title. 

You can find his article below, which won the award for “making real estate clear to the broadest possible audience.”

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The Morning Call: Our tree service company took on the FTC; here is why

When David Servin’s son, Adam, started a small tree care company more than a decade ago, he would’ve been hard-pressed to imagine that one day he’d go toe-to-toe with the Federal Trade Commission. But when the FTC attempted to roll out a nationwide ban on noncompete agreements—upending Adam’s business model—he and his dad decided to fight back.

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Yale Notice & Comment: No, Jarkesy will not flood the courts

When a federal agency launches a suit against you, you’re often relegated to defending yourself in the agency’s own in-house tribunal. In many cases, you’re then forced to spend small fortunes and years toiling away before you ever see a real courtroom with an independent judge and jury to decide your fate.  

Fortunately, the Supreme Court recently took a sledgehammer to this travesty of due process in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy. As PLF attorney Adi Dynar points out, despite critics’ claims, it’s now time for Congress to pick up where the Court left off.

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What’s so special about the right to a jury trial?

John Adams once said that “representative government and trial by jury are the heart and lungs of liberty.” The right to a jury trial is even enshrined in the Bill of Rights via the Sixth and Seventh Amendments—pertaining to criminal and civil trials, respectively.

PLF editorial writer Brittany Hunter provides a history of the right to a jury trial and asks why so many Americans still find themselves in biased regulatory tribunals without a jury.

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