Monthly Archives: November 2023

US Court of Appeals Upholds Texas Drone Privacy Law

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently issued an opinion in National Press Photographers Association v. McCraw, a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Texas’ drone privacy law.  [Read Opinion here.] Statutory Background In 2013, the Texas Legislature passed the Texas Privacy Act, Chapter 423 of the Texas Government Code (“Chapter 423”).  The purpose of this statute was to regulate the use of drones in Texas airspace.  [To read full summary of the law, click here.]  Essentially, Chapter 423 can be divided into two sections:  the Surveillance… Read More →

A Tofurkey Lawsuit for Thanksgiving Week

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How better to celebrate the week of Thanksgiving than by taking a look at a lawsuit involving tofurkey? In October, Turtle Island Foods (“The Tofurkey Company”) and the Plant Based Foods Association filed and Amended Complaint in a  lawsuit against the State of Texas claiming that the newly enacted Texas meat labeling law is unconstitutional. Turtle Island Foods SPC v. Abbott was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. [Read Amended Complaint here.] Do note that this blog post outlines the claims… Read More →

November 17, 2023 Weekly Round Up

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There have been a number of developments in key agricultural law issues around the country over the past couple of weeks.  From the Farm Bill to Right to Farm, WOTUS to water law, we’ll get you up to speed! *Texas voters pass Constitutional right to farm, other Constitutional amendments.  On November 7, Texas voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 1, which means that Texans now have a right to farming, ranching, timber production, horticulture, and wildlife management in the State Constitution.  [Read more about Prop 1 language here and read… Read More →

Updated Handbooks & Holiday Sale!

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We’ve been working our tails off behind the scenes to get all our handbooks updated to reflect legal changes over the past year.  We’re excited to announce we have those handbooks all up to date and ready for you!  Remember, you can download a free PDF of these handbooks, or we sell hard copies. Owning Your Piece of Texas: Key Laws Texas Landowners Need to Know It’s our award-winning book with a beautiful new cover! This handbook is designed to offer a basic overview of several of the… Read More →

New Fact Sheets

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My student assistant, Karli Kaase, and I have recently published three fact sheets featuring information on which we frequently get questions from landowners.  All are available to download for free. Easements 101 What is an easement?  What different types of easements exist?  What does the law require to recognize various types of easements?  We cover all of these questions and more in our “Easements 101” fact sheet.  Click here to download. Getting End-of-Life Documents in Order Although no one enjoys thinking about death, there are some basic end-of-life… Read More →

November 3, 2023 Weekly Round Up

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Time continues to fly as we have reached the last 60 days of the year!  There has been no shortage of agricultural law news around the country the past couple of weeks. *Texas Drone Law Upheld by U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.  The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has reversed a lower court decision striking down the Texas Privacy Act, a law related to privacy and drone usage.  You may recall from this blog post, a federal district court sided with journalists… Read More →