O Christmas Tree

What to Know: Remember the Percy brothers, who wanted to start a Christmas tree farm on their own land—and were fined by their township for clearing the acreage of brush and dead trees? With TPPF’s help, they won at the trial court (though the township has appealed).

The TPPF Take: The Wayne County Circuit Court held that the township’s tree ordinance is an unconstitutional taking and seizure of private property.

“The court rightly recognized that it is the Percys, not the government, that own the trees on their property,” said TPPF’s Robert Henneke. “That is a significant victory for not only the Percys but for property owners everywhere.”