Court of Appeals Reverses $60 Million Punitive Damage Award for Peach Farmer in Dicamba Trial

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently vacated a $60 million punitive damage verdict in a dicamba lawsuit filed by a Missouri peach farmer. Background Dicamba is a herbicide product that kills broadleaf weeds.  Traditional dicamba formulations also kill growing crops, and thus, dicamba was not used as an over-the-top herbicide during the growing season.  That changed, however, when Monsanto developed dicamba-tolerant soybean and cotton seeds.  The seeds, Xtend, were released in 2015.  However, at that time, there was no corresponding dicamba herbicide labeled… Read More →

July 22, 2022 Weekly Round Up

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Happy Friday!  Here are some of the ag law stories in the news over the past couple of weeks. * Court overturns punitive damage award in case involving peach farm and dicamba drift.  The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has overturned a $60 million punitive damage award in a case involving dicamba drift damage to a Missouri peach farm.  The court affirmed the remainder of the case, but has ordered a new trial on the sole issue of punitive damages.  I’ll have a blog post… Read More →

Direct Beef Sales Handbook Available!

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We’re excited to unveil our newest handbook, “Where’s the Beef? Legal & Economic Considerations for Direct Beef Sales.” Whether you are just considering adding direct beef sales to your operation or you’ve been involved in selling beef directly to the consumer for years, this handbook is for you!  We walk through a number of the legal and economic issues related to selling beef in this manner including necessary permits, selecting a slaughter facility, budgeting, calculating breakeven costs, and more.  We also share insights from numerous interviews with producers… Read More →

Texas Supreme Court: Texas Central Has Eminent Domain Power for High Speed Rail

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In a case we’ve been closely following, Miles v. Texas Central Railroad & Infrastructure, Inc., the Texas Supreme Court held that Texas Central does have the right to exercise eminent domain power in building the high speed rail from Dallas to Houston. Background This case revolves around the proposed high-speed electric-powered passenger train that would run between Dallas and Houston. In 2012, TXHS Railroad, Inc. was formed and in 2015, the company changed its name to Texas Central Railroad & Infrastructure, Inc. (“Texas Central”) with a purpose to “plan,… Read More →

July 8, 2022 Weekly Round Up

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We’ve made it to July!  Here are some of the ag law stories in the news over the past couple of weeks. *Texas Supreme Court rules Texas Central Railroad has eminent domain authority for high speed rail project.  In a 6-3 ruling, the Texas Supreme Court has found that Texas Central Railroad does have eminent domain authority for its high speed rail project from Dallas to Houston. [Find opinions here.]  I’ll have a full blog post breaking down this decision next week.  In the next month, I’ll also… Read More →

Thank You To Our Sponsors!

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We wanted to take a minute to give a big THANK YOU to all of the Texas Agriculture Law Blog sponsors.  We are so grateful for your support of this blog! We appreciate Capital Farm Credit,  Lone Star Ag Credit, Texas Corn Producers, Texas Farm Credit, Texas Forestry Association, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Insureberry (a division of Ag Workers Insurance), Texas Grain Sorghum Producers Association, Texas Land Associates, and Texan Title. If you’re a reader, please take a moment to thank these sponsors!

Rights of First Refusal and the Importance of Record Notice

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A right of first refusal can be a good way to ensure a person has an option to purchase property before it is sold to another.  However, as the Amarillo Court of Appeals recently considered in Mr. W. Fireworks, Inc. v. 731 Properties, LLC, certain steps must be taken to ensure enforceability of this right.  [Read opinion here.] Background Mr. W Fireworks, Inc. (“Mr. W”) owns fireworks stands across Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.  One of its stands is on Soncy Road in Amarillo on land that it leased… Read More →

June 24, 2022 Weekly Round Up

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We’re back with another agricultural law weekly round up.  Here are some of the stories in the news over the past couple of weeks. *October will be big for ag law at the US Supreme Court.  The United States Supreme Court will have their hands full of ag law in October.  The Court will hear arguments in Sackett v. U.S., a case questioning the proper scope of “waters of the United States” as applied to wetlands under the Clean Water Act on October 3.  A week later on October… Read More →

Second Edition – Five Strands: A Landowner’s Guide to Fence Law in Texas

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Back in 2017, we published Five Strands: A Landowner’s Guide to Fence Law in Texas.  This handbook was the first resource of its kind to gather together information about Texas fence law in one easy-to-read, landowner-friendly publication.  Thanks to you all, it was extremely popular. Now, five years later, we are releasing our Second Edition.  There have been numerous new cases and opinions issued that landowners and producers need to be aware of, and this new handbook will allow you to do just that. To download your free… Read More →

Case Offers Reminder: Property Can Be Landlocked in Texas

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A recent Waco Court of Appeals decision in Fort Worth & Western Railroad Co. v. Albert offers an important reminder that property can, indeed, be landlocked in Texas. [Read opinion here.] Background In April 2016, Albert purchased 10 acres of land in Johnson County, Texas to build and operate a cement mixing plant.  To do so, he and two business partners formed Chisholm Trail Redi-Mix, LLC.   The only access to Albert’s property was to cross a single-lane gravel railroad crossing over the neighboring property, currently owned by Ft. Worth &… Read More →