A couple is suing Oakland, California, in an effort to challenge a costly fine from city officials, who claimed they cut down 38 trees on their property without a permit.
Residents Matthew Bernard and Lynn Warner — represented by lawyers from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank — filed the complaint Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The lawsuit, which was first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, seeks to challenge the city’s Protected Tree Ordinance, under which they were fined nearly $1 million.
