Kenneth D. Widgren, Jr. And Kenneth D. Widgren, Sr. v. Maple Grove Township H. Wayne Beldo Louis Lenz, Jr.

OPINION

MERRITT, Circuit Judge.

This case presents the question whether certain housing code and property tax inspections of the exterior of a house within the “curtilage” in a remote rural setting constitute a “search” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. Balancing a number of factors regarding the Widgrens’ reasonable expectation of privacy, we hold that the intrusions at issue are not Fourth Amendment searches, and we affirm the District Court’s judgment in favor of the defendants on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment.

I. Factual Background

Plaintiff Kenneth Widgren, Sr.,…