Representative Poncho Nevarez has filed a request for an Attorney General Opinion to provide guidance on how stray livestock should be handled in an open range county. [Read request here.]  This is an issue not previously addressed by a Texas appellate court, on which there is a good deal of confusion, and on which I receive a lot of questions.  It will be very interesting to see what opinion the AG offers. Legal Background Presidio County, Texas is open range.  The county has never passed a local stock… Read More →

*UPDATE In January 2020, the Texas Supreme Court reversed.  To read a blog post on that Opinion, click here. This week, we are continuing this blog series with the second recent fence law case released by a Texas court.  If you missed Part I discussing Dearbonne v. Courville, click here. Today, we will focus on an opinion from the San Antonio Court of Appeals in Garcia v. Pruski, a case involving a motorist colliding with a bull on the highway.  [Read full Opinion here.] Background Plaintiff, Mr. Garcia, was injured… Read More →

Fence law was the topic of two recent opinions issued by appellate level courts in Texas.  Today, we will look at Dearbonne v. Courville a case out of Jefferson County, followed next week by a case out of Wilson County.  Both cases illustrate real-life situations involving fence law and offer differing approaches to the legal analysis of whether landowners can be liable for animals hit on the roadway. Background  The Beaumont Court of Appeals recently decided Dearbonne v. Courville. [Read Opinion here.]  In this case, the plaintiffs were injured when their vehicle… Read More →

Suppose I purchased land in Texas and there was a barbed wire fence on the property line dividing my neighbor’s land and my own.  Could I remove or replace that boundary fence?  If I had fences on my property that attached to that boundary fence, would I be allowed to remove those adjoining fences? There is actually a Texas statute that provides requirements for a landowner seeking to remove certain fences on his or her own property.  The “Removal of Adjoining Fences” statute, Texas Agric. Code Sections 143.121-.123,… Read More →