Lawsuit to Invalidate ALRB Trespass-Access Rule

“Government may not give out permission slips to unions, to trespass on private property,” added Thompson. “When government arm-twists an owner into allowing people onto his property against his will, that land, or at least an easement across it, is being commandeered for a government agenda. And government seizure of private property, without compensation, is strictly forbidden by the Fifth Amendment and its ban on takings.

“There are plenty of sites in local communities where unions could make their case to agricultural employees,” Thompson continued. “But the union activists often seem more interested in forcing themselves onto private property and fomenting conflict. Bureaucrats have no business promoting this disruption by stripping property owners of their fundamental rights.”

PLF’s lawsuit, on behalf of Cedar Point Nursery and Fowler Packing Company, asks the U.S. 9th Federal Circuit Court of Appeal to rule that the ALRB access regulation violates the 5th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, protecting property owners against unlawful takings,including the right to exclude trespassers, and the 4th Amendment right against unreasonable, government-sanctioned intrusions, searches and seizures.

Decades old, the trespass regulation survived a challenge at the state Supreme Court in 1976, but has never been challenged in federal court as a violation of fundamental property rights protected by the U.S. Constitution.  Cedar Point Nursery and Fowler Packing have turned to the federal courts for help because they have had their operations disrupted in recent months by activists from the United Farm Workers (UFW) who trespassed, or attempted to trespass, citing ALRB’s unconstitutional trespass regulation as their “justification.”

You can find more information about PLF’s lawsuit at their website.