Neighboring retirees rang in the New Year with a major victory over the California Coastal Commission; a former PLF client recovered the title to his home, just in time for Christmas; and a family-owned fireworks company challenges an absurd federal regulation.

Here’s what’s on The Docket. 

California Coastal Commission overturned in major victory for property owners

On New Year’s Eve, a San Luis Obispo Superior Court judge ruled that the California Coastal Commission arbitrarily voided a pair of development permits that were rightfully awarded to two retired Californians. 

After more than two years of litigation—represented by PLF free of charge—neighbors Al Hadian and Ralph Bookout are finally free to follow through on their respective plans to retire along the California coast.   

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PLF client recovers the title to his home after devastating ordeal; a heartwarming new chapter begins

Just before Christmas, after years of litigation and major precedent-setting victories before the United States and Nebraska Supreme Courts, former PLF client Kevin Fair received news that he was finally getting his home back.  

To help Kevin land on his feet after the horrifying ordeal, a GoFundMe campaign was created and quickly exceeded even the most optimistic expectations.  

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How a Kansas fireworks company sparked a challenge against an abusive federal regulator

PLF has been suing the government for more than 50 years. We’ve fought and helped overturn a laundry list of incredibly arbitrary—and frankly, ridiculous—rules and regulations levied on American businesses and property owners.  

But the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s “poof/bang test” just might take the cake.

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Law & Liberty: Banned from feeding the hungry 

A charity group harassed for feeding the hungry in Ohio; a volunteer fire department forcibly dissolved in Virginia; and federal officials allegedly blocking and seizing private aid en route to Hurricane Helene victims. 

These are true stories PLF senior attorney Austin Raynor tells in online magazine Law & Liberty. As he puts it: “Civil society is fragile, and the state is a jealous master.”

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Civil Beat: The Jones Act is sinking the economies of Alaska and Hawaii

The Jones Act has been the pride of protectionists for decades—requiring that goods transported between U.S. ports be carried on ships that are U.S.-built, U.S.-owned, and U.S.-crewed. 

But as PLF’s Joshua Thompson argues in Civil Beat, “[it’s] a demonstrably bad policy” particularly for Alaska and Hawaii, “[inflating] prices on nearly every product that enters the two states.” Fortunately, Joshua thinks he may have found the Act’s Achilles heel. 

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The CFR: A 190,000-page monument to executive overreach

Free marketeers and constitutionalists around the country have applauded recent calls to “drain the swamp” from President-elect Donald Trump and his new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) heads, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. But what does “draining the swamp” actually mean, and what should we hope to see in the new administration? 

PLF strategic research manager Mitchell Scacchi argues that “draining the swamp should mean reducing the size and scope of the federal government, specifically the federal bureaucracy.” And there’s no better place to start than the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).  

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