Since its inception, the Texas Public Policy Foundation has emphasized the importance of private property rights, not only as rampart of limited government, but also as the indispensable base of a free market economy as well as the financial success this state has witnessed, thanks to the Texas Model. To that end, the Foundation has conducted repeated inquiries as to quality of Texas’ eminent domain laws, placing special significance on how the government can better thread the needle, which defines the precarious balance between public necessity and individual liberty.
Matthew Bernard and Lynn Warner v. City of Oakland, California
Date Filed: June 29, 2026 Original Court: Northern District of California Case Status: Pending Matthew Bernard and Lynn Warner own an undeveloped residential plot in Oakland, California. In 2020, the Oakland Fire Department ordered them to clear dead and dying trees from their land or face ongoing fines. The landowners hired an arborist and removed...