AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) filed an amended complaint in Aderholt, et al. v. Bureau of Land Management, et. al., TPPF’s lawsuit challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) unconstitutional and arbitrary seizure of thousands of acres of private property along the Red River in Texas. TPPF’s Center for the American Future is representing individual property owners, the counties of Wichita, Clay, and Wilbarger, and the Clay County Sheriff in the lawsuit.
“BLM’s actions over the past month show its public claim of its commitment to work with landowners to properly identify the extent of federal holdings in the Red River to be nothing more than smoke and mirrors,” said Robert Henneke, general counsel and director of the Center for the American Future at TPPF. “Instead, BLM responded to Plaintiffs’ claims by throwing the kitchen sink at our Clients through a thirty page dismissal motion alleging a laundry list of technicalities and procedural gotchas.
“This week, the Center for the American Future threw the kitchen sink back at the federal government with the filing of their Amended Complaint, causing the federal court to immediately deny BLM’s dismissal motion. Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint demonstrates that our Clients’ claims stand solidly upon the bedrock of the United States Constitution and clearly established Supreme Court precedent. The Center for the American Future stands firmly committed to defending our Clients’ private property and constitutional rights to the last full measure through the ongoing judicial proceedings."
To read the amended complaint, please visit: http://txpo.li/BLM-amended-complaint
The federal government is attempting to take thousands of acres of Texas land from homeowners and ranchers along the Red River. According to the Bureau of Land Management, the land is inside the river and is therefore public land. However, the south bank of the river is about a mile north of where the government says it is. Furthermore, many Texans live on that land, and many others make their livelihoods from farming and ranching on it. These Texans have lived and paid taxes on the land for generations, and they have titles and deeds going back to the 1800’s.
For more information on the dispute and lawsuit please visit: www.RedRiverPropertyRights.com
To schedule an interview with Mr. Henneke, please contact Caroline Espinosa at[email protected] or 512-472-2700.
The Honorable Robert Henneke is General Counsel and Director of the Foundation’s Center for the American Future.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin, Texas.