Our cases
Restoring accountability and public trust
One city at a time
The litigation that shaped our approach: using public-nuisance law to
defend the rights of residents and business owners.
Explore each case for the full account, court documents, and related
coverage.
[ 01 ]
Phoenix
Arizona · Public nuisance
Brown v. Phoenix
Phoenix business owners challenged conditions in “The Zone,” an
800-person outdoor homeless encampment in downtown Phoenix. They
argued that a city’s discretion in addressing homelessness does not
permit it to violate state public-nuisance law.
Ilan Wurman developed the strategy and led the litigation. The
founding team secured victories at trial and on appeal, with the
city required to abate the nuisance. The encampments are now gone,
and the litigation team secured attorney's fees.
Outcome: trial and appellate victories
Read the full Phoenix case
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[ 02 ]
Tucson
Arizona · Public nuisance
Taking the strategy further.
The Tucson litigation applied a similar public-nuisance approach:
holding a city accountable for conditions affecting the people who
live and work there. The case focused on a smaller encampment in a
single neighborhood park. The case tested the proposition that even
smaller encampments could be nuisances, not just sprawling ones like
the one in Phoenix.
The founding team secured a full appellate victory.
Outcome: appellate victory
Read the full Tucson case
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[ 03 ]
Berkeley
California · Public nuisance
Defending the right to city life.
Filed in September 2024, the Berkeley lawsuit brings the
public-nuisance strategy to California.
The founding team secured an early victory, with the state court in
Alameda County rejecting the city’s motion to dismiss, allowing the
case to proceed.
The case also involved an interfering lawsuit in federal court
brought by homeless advocacy groups against Berkeley after the City
started to clean up the encampments in early 2025.
Milestone: motion to dismiss denied
Read the full Berkeley case
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