diff --git a/deform/exception.py b/deform/exception.py
index 8b61915f..7e4a8fd4 100644
--- a/deform/exception.py
+++ b/deform/exception.py
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ class ValidationFailure(Exception):
     """
 
     def __init__(self, field, cstruct, error):
-        Exception.__init__(self)
+        super().__init__(field, cstruct, error)
         self.field = field
         self.cstruct = cstruct
         self.error = error
diff --git a/deform/i18n.py b/deform/i18n.py
index 42d23c84..cebb4883 100644
--- a/deform/i18n.py
+++ b/deform/i18n.py
@@ -2,5 +2,4 @@
 
 from translationstring import TranslationStringFactory
 
-
 _ = TranslationStringFactory("deform")
diff --git a/deform/schema.py b/deform/schema.py
index 063fb5e2..9f39c981 100644
--- a/deform/schema.py
+++ b/deform/schema.py
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@
 
 from . import widget
 
-
 default_widget_makers = {
     colander.Mapping: widget.MappingWidget,
     colander.Sequence: widget.SequenceWidget,
diff --git a/deform/template.py b/deform/template.py
index 90ccb5ea..7a82b4d0 100644
--- a/deform/template.py
+++ b/deform/template.py
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@
 
 from .exception import TemplateError
 
-
 BOOLEAN_HTML_ATTRS = frozenset(
     [
         # List of Boolean attributes in HTML that should be rendered in
diff --git a/deform/widget.py b/deform/widget.py
index 481fdbef..d385af1a 100644
--- a/deform/widget.py
+++ b/deform/widget.py
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@
 from .i18n import _
 from .utils import text_
 
-
 sequence_types = (
     list,
     tuple,
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index a67f2c57..0196deba 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 [build-system]
-requires = ["setuptools", "wheel"]
+requires = ["setuptools<81.0.0", "wheel"]
 
 [tool.black]
 line-length = 79
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@ include_trailing_comma = true
 known_first_party = "deform"
 known_pyramid = "colander,jinja2,plaster,pyramid,pyramid_layout,venusian,zope,transaction,pyramid_chameleon,Chameleon"
 line_length = 79
-lines_after_imports = 2
 multi_line_output = 3
 no_lines_before = "THIRDPARTY"
 profile = "black"
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 5e604a36..a79a6118 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ def readfile(name):
     "peppercorn>=0.3",  # rename operation type
     "translationstring>=1.0",  # add format mapping with %
     "zope.deprecation",
+    "setuptools<81.0.0",
 ]
 
 lint_extras = [
@@ -82,7 +83,6 @@ def readfile(name):
     long_description=README + "\n\n" + CHANGES,
     classifiers=[
         "Intended Audience :: Developers",
-        "License :: Repoze Public License",
         "Programming Language :: Python",
         "Programming Language :: Python :: 3",
         "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10",
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index 238ea1ea..27cbf2a3 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -13,11 +13,15 @@ setenv =
 commands =
     python --version
     pytest {posargs:}
+deps =
+    setuptools<81.0.0
 
 [testenv:py311-cover]
 commands =
     python --version
     pytest --cov {posargs:}
+deps =
+    setuptools<81.0.0
 
 [testenv:lint]
 commands =
@@ -28,7 +32,7 @@ commands =
     black --check --diff deform setup.py
     # XXX -r reports now warnings too so we fail
     python setup.py check -s -m
-    rstcheck README.rst CHANGES.txt 
+    rstcheck README.rst CHANGES.txt
     check-manifest
 extras =
     lint
@@ -88,5 +92,5 @@ commands =
     # build wheel from sdist
     pip wheel -v --no-deps --no-index --no-build-isolation --wheel-dir {toxinidir}/dist --find-links {toxinidir}/dist deform
 deps =
-    setuptools
+    setuptools<81.0.0
     wheel