What do they call those phrases that are internally contradictory like “jumbo shrimp” and similar? Here’s an awfully good Dirt Law version (think about that on your next working vacation).
Continue Reading How’s That Again?
New Article (Lawprof Molly Brady): “Property v. Guns: The Level-of-Generality Problem in Wolford”
Check it out, an in-progress piece from lawprof Molly Brady, “Property v. Guns: The Level-of-Generality Problem in Wolford.”
This delves into the issue we posted about last week, the Second Amendment and the right to exclude, an issue argued recently before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Continue Reading New Article (Lawprof Molly Brady): “Property v. Guns: The Level-of-Generality Problem in Wolford”
No Shirt, No Guns, No Service: Second Amendment Case Features The Right To Exclude
Check out the transcript of the recent Supreme Court oral arguments in Wolford v. Lopez.
That’s the case challenging the Hawaii statute barring individuals from carrying concealed firearms unless the owner of the premises affirmative consents as a violation of the Second Amendment.
Recall that the Supreme Court has already held that you have
CA8: Requirement To Abate Nuisance Isn’t A Taking
A short one from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit that we’ve been meaning to post for a while.
In reVamped LLC v. City of Pipestone, No. 25-1076 (Dec. 23, 2025), the court concluded that the city’s issuance of a closure order to reVamped after the business ended up on the
New Cert Petition (Ours): Is A State Immune From Takings Claims (Even In Its Own Courts)?
Check this out, a new cert petition filed yesterday.
As the title of this post notes, this is one of ours. So we won’t be making substantial commentary on it.
But we can say that a sharply-divided Arkansas Supreme Court held that BAS’s Tyler takings claim for the State Lands Commissioner’s failure to return
Hawaii Court Of Appeals: Elephants Are Not “Persons”
Hawaii court of appeals holds that elephants (yes, actual elephants) are not “persons” as that term is used in state’s habeas corpus statute.
An animal rights group wanted to spring two elephants from the Honolulu Zoo. Went about as well as you’d expect. This seems to be a thing (check out this Colorado case
CA6: Denial Of Rezoning Is Not A Penn Central Taking
In Lifetime Communities, Ltd. v. City of Worthington, No. 25-3048 (Jan. 27, 2026), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the city’s refusal to upzone a vacant parcel from “S-1” (which permits only parks, hospitals, churches, and other similar institutional uses) to a designation that would allow mixed-use development, was not a Penn Central taking.
Continue Reading CA6: Denial Of Rezoning Is Not A Penn Central Taking
Symposium: “Euclid Turns 100: Rethinking an Antiquated Case and Reimagining Euclidean Zoning for the Century Ahead”
Pictured: PLF’s Steve Davis, getting us started. We’re underway today with the academic symposium “Euclid Turns 100: Rethinking an Antiquated Case and Reimagining Euclidean Zoning for the Century Ahead” at the George Mason Law School. Cosponsored by the law school’s Journal of Law, Economics, and Policy, Mercatus Center, and our outfit Pacific Legal Foundation, the symposium is designed to focus the discussion of housing, zoning, and property rights (hot topics in the headlines), and ask the question: has Euclidean zoning outlived its usefulness? And if so, what, if anything, should replace it?
Continue Reading Symposium: “Euclid Turns 100: Rethinking an Antiquated Case and Reimagining Euclidean Zoning for the Century Ahead”
There Will Be Takings: New Complaint Challenging California’s “Sensitive Receptor” Setback Statute
Check this out, a new complaint, filed this week in a federal court in California.
[We won’t be offering all that much comment on this because it is one of ours.]
This a takings challenge to a California statute which establishes a purported 3,200-foot safety zone around “sensitive receptors” that “prohibits the drilling of new oil and gas wells within 3,200 feet
of “sensitive receptors,” which includes most places where the public works, lives, and plays.” Complaint at 1.
Continue Reading There Will Be Takings: New Complaint Challenging California’s “Sensitive Receptor” Setback Statute
2026 Future of Property Law Conference, University of Hawaii Law School, Feb 13, 2026 (Live & Webcast)
If you are still looking for a reason to head to the 808 next month, here it is. The 2026 Future of Property Law Conference, February 13, 2026 at the University of Hawaii School of Law.
Continue Reading 2026 Future of Property Law Conference, University of Hawaii Law School, Feb 13, 2026 (Live & Webcast)