As the summer draws to a close and students head back to school, the ag law developments continue around the country!
Photo by Erin Minuskin on Unsplash
* Hearing date set for John Deere right to repair settlement; claims due December 31, 2026. The $99 million settlement between John Deere and class members impacted by its right-to-repair practices has been set for a fairness hearing in January 2027. Notifications will be sent to class members starting August 28, 2026. Class members, who are expected to number over 200,000, include anyone who purchased repair services from John Deere or its authorized dealers between January 10, 2018 and May 18, 2006. [Read article here.]
*Key considerations for communities when data centers propose to come to down. Yesterday, I listed to a webinar about data centers and rural America hosted by Agri-Pulse. One of the speakers, Mike Turner, offered a great list of 15 considerations communities need to think about if data centers are looking to build nearby. [Read list here.] On a similar note, the Texas Tribune recently published an article discussing how many data centers keep their plans secret from local landowners. [Read article here.] Meanwhile, earlier this month, Governor Abbott instructed the Public Utilities Commission and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to pause new data center approvals and grid interconnection until regulators complete a comprehensive audit of each proposed facility’s energy demand, water use, tax incentives, ownership structure, and community impacts. [Read article here.]
*California court dismisses Due Process claim challenging Proposition 12, allows Commerce Clause claim to go forward. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California the plaintiff’s Due Process claim in Triumph Foods, LLC v. Banta. It did, however, allow the plaintiffs’ Commerce Clause challenge to go forward. The Plaintiff’s Commerce Clause claim differs from that decided by the United States Supreme Court in National Pork Producers v. Ross in that it focuses on the significant burden of one provision–the slaughterhouse exception–imposed a significant burden on interstate commerce. [Read Opinion here.]
*Why “standard” agreements are rarely the best for land-based business owners. Stephen Ringquist with Braun & Gresham recently wrote a great article about why land-based businesses should avoid “standard” or form agreements such as lease forms, easements, development contracts, or construction contracts. He goes on to describe a number of issues with these types of agreements–including one that I think is particularly important–the “standard agreement” they give you was often written by their lawyer with their interests in mind! [Read article here.]
*Court upholds PFAS designation as a hazardous substance under CERCLA. The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently upheld the EPA’s 2024 regulation that designated PFOS and PFOA as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”). This designation matters because parties responsible for the release of more than one pound substances designated as hazardous under CERCLA must report the releases to authorities and may be required to fund cleanup of contaminated sites. The court found that in passing this rule, the EPA acted within its statutory authority and made a “reasonable decision” in listing the substances as hazardous. [Read Opinion here.]
* Iowa Supreme Court holds that animal activities act bars $182 million injury claim. The Iowa Supreme Court sided with horse owners in Shafer v. Santana, finding that the Iowa Domesticated Animal Activities Act was a viable defense and reversing a $182 million verdict for the plaintiffs who were injured in an accident involving a team of horses pulling an antique sickle mower. As a result of the accident, the plaintiff was paralyzed from the waist down. The Supreme Court held that operating a horse-drawn sickle mower is a “domesticated animal activity” of driving, even though at the time of the injury, the driver had exited the mower and the horses were standing still. It also found there was not a question of fact as to whether the defendant acted recklessly. [Read article here.]
* Nebraska ranchers file suit against neighbors and Nebraska Game & Parks Commission after controlled burn escaped, burned land and killed cows. Plaintiffs have filed suit in Nebraska against the State Game and Parks Commission and a neighboring landowner alleging $272,000 in damages caused by an escaped controlled burn. The State has filed a counterclaim against the neighbor, upon whose land the burn was conducted, claiming that the landowner was the “burn boss” and accepted liability for the fire. The State claims its employees wanted to shut down the burn, but the landowners objected to doing so. [Read article here.]
* Multi-million pesticide drift lawsuit filed by cannabis producer against berry farming neighbor. Joel Cape wrote about a case filed in New Hampshire that pitted a cannabis farm against a neighboring landowner who sprayed pesticides on his berry crop. The cannabis farm claimed that the pesticide drifted and caused $17 million in damage to their crop. [Read article here.]
*California Court of Appeals rejects necessity defense in animal rights trespassing case. Earlier this year, the California Court of Appeals rejected the defense of necessity, which was raised by animal rights activists and a defense to trespassing claims in People v. Hsiung. [Read Opinion here.] Specifically, the court found there was insufficient evidence that there was an emergency such that there was no choice for the defendant but to commit trespass to prevent imminent harm. The facts of the case, instead, showed that this action was well-thought out, planned in advance, and organized before the trespass ever occurred. This, the court ruled, was not necessity.
*More than a Handshake Deal. You know that I never advise to make any deals solely on a handshake. My kids recently did just that…and the results turned out to be pretty adorable. [Read article here.]
Upcoming Presentations
Today, I’m headed to Oklahoma to speak at the 580 Beef Conference in Woodward. I’ve got a couple of programs on the book for September, and then things really kick off for the fall with a full schedule for the last quarter of 2026.
To see my complete list of presentations, click here.
