Here we are with our final Weekly Round Up of the year.  Thank you so much for reading!

Photo by Sara Codair on Unsplash

*Defendants file counterclaims in show goat lawsuit.  One of our most popular posts of the year was discussing a lawsuit involving a show goat in California.  [Read post here.]  Recently, two defendants have filed a countersuit against the goat owners.  [Read Answer & Counterclaim here.  Specifically, the CEO and the Superintendent of the livestock show filed five counter claims.  Essentially, they allege that Jessica (the mother of the goat exhibitor) signed an online agreement stating she was the owner of the goat and that she would abide by all fair rules, including the terminal sale requirement. They also claim she signed an indemnity agreement that she would hold the fair harmless from any claim of liability or damage. They also allege that Jessica was negligent in her actions of breaching the contract and removing the goat from the grounds.

*SEC claims Texas cattle marketing company is a Ponzi scheme.  The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has frozen assets of Agridime LLC, a cattle marketing company based in Ft. Worth.  The SEC claims Agridime is a Ponzi scheme about to implode.  The SEC says Agridime has raised over $191 million from 2,100 investors in 15 states, but had less than $1.5 million in cash and insufficient operating revenues as of September 30. [Read article here.]

*TPWD ceases attempt to condemn Fairfield Lake State Park land.  The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is ceasing its attempt to condemn land in Freestone County.  The land was previously owned by Vista Corp who leased the portion containing Fairfield Lake State Park to the state for free.  Earlier this year, Vista sold the land to Todd Interests for $103 million.  It was then that TPWD, who turned down the opportunity to purchase the property from Vista itself, sought to take the land from Todd through eminent domain.  In those proceedings, the special commissioners valued the land at $418 million versus the $85 million value claimed by TPWD.  TWPD is now dropping its condemnation suit.  [Read article here.]

*Tips for young farmers taking over the family farm.  Mindy Ward wrote a great article offering simple, but important tips for younger farmers looking to take over the family operation.  [Read article here.]

*Five factors to consider when choosing the right estate plan.  I thought this article was a great overview of considerations when drafting an estate plan.  It’s not ag-specific, but these are the same issues I cover in my farm and ranch estate planning presentation.  [Read article here.]  On that note, Texas Corn Producers has a free video of me talking about ag estate planning basics. To listen, click here.

Upcoming Presentations

I’m excited to announce that we’ve released my 2024 speaking calendar.  You can see my dates here.