U.S. Supreme Court Sides with Property Owners

Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) won a precedent-setting victory for property owners this week when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in its favor in the United States Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes.

The groundbreaking decision accepted PLF’s argument that landowners have a right to seek judicial review when their property is designated as wetlands subject to federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.

“Today’s ruling marks a long-awaited victory for individual liberty, property rights, and the rule of law,” said PLF Principal Attorney M. Reed Hopper, who argued the case before the justices. He said landowners have had no meaningful way to challenge the Clean Water Act.

“They have been put at the mercy of the government because land covered by the Act is subject to complete federal control,” he said. “But all that changed today.”

The justices ruled that wetlands “jurisdictional determinations” can be immediately challenged in court.  Source: PLF and Courthouse News  S