AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) issued the following statement from the Honorable Robert Henneke, general counsel and director of TPPF’s Center for the American Future, on the federal district court’s order denying the majority of federal government’s dismissal motion against Aderholt, et al. v. Bureau of Land Management, et. al. The court upheld six of the eight causes of action, allowing the case to be litigated on the merits. 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 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.
“All of our Clients – the individual landowners, the counties of Wilbarger, Wichita, and Clay, and the Clay County Sheriff – now get their day in Court,” said Henneke. “Thus far in the litigation, the federal government has raised every procedural, jurisdictional, and technical issue imaginable to prevent this lawsuit from proceeding forward. Today’s federal district court order denying the majority of the government’s arguments represents a significant victory both for Plaintiffs but also for Texas property rights. We look forward to the opportunity to hold the Bureau of Land Management accountable for their attempts to seize our Clients’ homes and private lands along the Red River.”
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.