From time to time, rich and powerful corporations are treated differently and, as far as they are concerned, unfairly. They are forced to go to court, stand up, and fight for their rights.
Imagine you reached a deal with the people of Minnesota to get “forest protection payments” of $16/acre for your thousands of acres in Minnesota and then the state later capped your payments at a measly $100,000 as part of the state’s effort to survive in tact from a fiscal free-fall. You might take exception to that. A deal’s a deal? (What’s the bargain, though, for the people of Minnesota? “Forest protection”?) Blandin Paper Co., Potlatch Corp. and Meriwether Land and Timber are not happy with the altered state plan and Brian Bakst of the Associated Press reports that the timber companies have gone to Ramsey County District Court to seek redress. The state has not yet responded to the complaint.