Monthly Archives: May 2025

Case Illustrates Difficulty of Proving Easement by Necessity

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The Austin Court of Appeals recently issued a decision in #1STR, LLC v. White, a case that illustrates the difficulty landowners face in proving the existence of an easement by necessity.  [Read Opinion here.] Background The White’s owned land in Bastrop County, which they partitioned into 10 tracts, one for each of their 10 children, in 1948.  Once partitioned, the ten tracts were laid out as shown below: Harry White owns Tract No. 7, shaded in the photo above. In 2021, CTX4R bought Tract No. 4 and subdivided it… Read More →

Texas Supreme Court Rules Surface Owner Owns Pore Space Beneath Land Absent Agreement Otherwise

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The Texas Supreme Court issued an important opinion last week in Myers-Woodward, LLC v. Underground Services Markham, LLC.  [Read Opinion here.] This case answers the pressing legal issue of who owns the pore space beneath land in Texas.  Given advances in technology that now enable oil and gas to be stored in such pore space, the answer to this question has real world implications and economic consequences. Background Myers-Woodward, LLC (“Myers”) owns 160 acres in Matagorda County. 1947 Mineral Deed In 1947, prior to Myers owning the property, the… Read More →

May 16, 2025 Weekly Round Up

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It has been a wild few weeks for agricultural law news!  Let’s get caught up on some of the biggest stories. * Live animal imports suspended along Southern border.  On May 11, 2025, United States Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, suspended live animal imports of cattle, horses, and bison through US ports of entry along the southern border due to concerns about the spread of New World Screwworm (NWS) in Mexico.  At that time, the NWS had been detected 700 miles from the U.S./Mexico border. [Read press release… Read More →

Federal Court Upholds Constitutionality of Iowa Law Aimed to Prevent Recording While Trespassing

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A federal court in Iowa recently upheld the constitutionality of a statute imposing criminal penalties for defendants who use recording devices while criminally trespassing in People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals v. Reynolds.  [Read Opinion here.]  The statute, while not expressly focused solely on agricultural operations, is an important protection for ag operations in Iowa concerned about activist groups trespassing and conducting secret videotaping or recording.  After a number of attempts to pass “ag gag” laws constitutionally protecting agricultural operations from this type of activity failed in… Read More →