Property Owner Hit With $7 Million Fine Will Have Her Day In Court

Humboldt County, California, fines people millions of dollars for things they didn’t do because it doesn’t care if they’re innocent. Now, IJ is a big step closer to dismantling this unconstitutional scheme thanks to a major win at the 9th Circuit.

Part of California’s “Emerald Triangle” (three northern counties famous for cannabis growth), Humboldt expected to cash in on legalization. While Humboldt made permits for commercial growth available to anyone willing to pay, the county also amended its ordinances to make sure no one could afford to grow cannabis without buying a permit—complete with $10,000 daily fines for any land-use violation that might be related to cannabis.

Rather than investigate, however, the county relies on satellite images to find unpermitted land uses and then just presumes the owner must be growing cannabis—no proof required. IJ client Rhonda Olson faces $7.4 million in fines for a property she recently bought for $60,000 because the prior owner grew cannabis near an old logging road that a different prior owner had graded without a permit—all before Rhonda bought the place. 

Once accused of cannabis-related violations, a landowner gets just 10 days to “return the land to its pre-cannabis state.” That’s often impossible because the notices don’t explain how the property violates the code, and the mere accusation of unpermitted cannabis makes landowners categorically ineligible for any permits—including ones they need to “abate” the nuisance. The county then delays hearings indefinitely so that paying a settlement is the only way to escape from under the fines. 

IJ is currently litigating more than a dozen cases against municipalities that impose excessive penalties without due process. Humboldt’s scheme is so egregious that our 2022 class action there brought five claims targeting different constitutional deficiencies. But in May 2023, a trial court rubber-stamped the county’s actions and dismissed our case. It held that because our clients had not yet paid the impossibly high fines, they hadn’t suffered an injury they could sue over. 

On December 30, the 9th Circuit reversed the dismissal almost entirely. The court recognized that our clients had already suffered serious financial and psychological harm. And by ruling that people don’t have to pay an unconstitutional fine before challenging it, the court’s decision will help many people far beyond Humboldt who would otherwise be frozen out of court.

The appellate court also ruled that Humboldt’s scheme might violate due process because it uses vague notices, imposes penalties without probable cause, delays hearings indefinitely, and punishes innocent people for someone else’s conduct.

After two and a half years of litigation, we’re now headed to discovery in the trial court. There, we will finally have a chance to prove our claims about Humboldt’s revenue-driven regime—and vindicate once and for all the principle that no American should be charged astronomical penalties for something they didn’t do.

Jared McClain is an IJ attorney.