Category Archives: Estate Planning

January 5, 2024 Weekly Round Up

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Hello and Happy New Year!  We’re back with our first Ag Law Weekly Round Up of 2024.  Here are some of the biggest ag law stories in the news over the past few weeks. *State of Texas responds in Tofurkey lawsuit challenging meat labeling law.  You may recall our Thanksgiving blog post highlighted a lawsuit challenging Texas’ new labeling law requiring analogue, plant based, and cell-cultured meat to be labeled in the Lone Star State.  The State of Texas has now filed a Motion to Dismiss in that… Read More →

December 15, 2023 Weekly Round Up

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Here we are with our final Weekly Round Up of the year.  Thank you so much for reading! *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)… Read More →

December 8, 2023 Weekly Round Up

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We’ve made it to December!  While many people are slowing down as we head into the holidays, agricultural law is not!  Here are a few stories recently in the news. *US Supreme Court will hear Texas property owners’ takings claims against DOT.  The US Supreme Court has granted the Petition for Certiorari in Devillier v. State of Texas, a case involving a lawsuit by property owners to cover flood damages they claim were caused by a DOT highway project.  [Read Petition here.] *Second marriages and farm transition planning publication… Read More →

August 25, 2023 Weekly Round Up

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Happy Friday!  Once again, we’ve had a number of ag law issues in the news the past couple of weeks. * Bipartisan group of lawmakers ask House Agriculture Committee Chairman not to include EATS Act in the next Farm Bill.  A letter signed by more than 170 lawmakers asks House Ag Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson not to include the EATS Act in a new farm bill.  The Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression Act was proposed after the Supreme Court upheld California’s Proposition 12 and would prohibit such measures in… Read More →

August 11, 2023 Weekly Round Up

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It has been an unbelievably busy week around here, I bet the same is true for many of you.  Welcome to those of you joining from the Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course and the Southern Family Farmers and Food Systems Conference.  Here are some ag law stories recently in the news. * Podcast episode recapping Texas Legislative Session for agriculture.  Yesterday, we released a podcast episode with J. Pete Laney recapping the 88th Texas Legislative Session and the key bills related to agriculture.  It’s become a tradition for… Read More →

July 28, 2023 Weekly Round Up

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We’ve reached the end of July!  Here are some of the ag law stories in the news. *Court rules that challenge to EPA dicamba registration brought by farm groups belongs in district court.  The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia recently ruled that a lawsuit filed by the American Soybean Association against the EPA should have been filed in the district court (trial level court) rather than at the court of appeals level.  Because of this, the court dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction…. Read More →

What Happens if the Original Will Is Missing?

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What happens when the original of a will goes missing and there is no evidence of what happened?  That was the issue recently addressed in In the estate of Myrtle Dell Brown. Background Myrtle Brown died in June 2018 at 93 years old.  She was not married and had no children.  The value of her estate was approximately $750,000. Ms. Eriks filed an application for probate of a copy of a will seeking to introduce a will dated October 1, 2009 that named the Humane Society as the sole… Read More →

June 16, 2023 Weekly Round Up

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We’re back with some helpful resources and information about agricultural law for your Friday! *Florida foreign ag land ownership law facing legal challenge.  Micah Brown from the National Ag Law Center recently wrote a great summary of lawsuit challenging Florida’s foreign ag land ownership law as unconstitutional.  [Read article here.]  To hear Micah and I discuss foreign ag land ownership laws generally, click here. *EPA appears to continue to fight for WOTUS Rule.  You may recall from this blog post my prediction that the Biden administration would likely… Read More →

June 9, 2023 Weekly Round Up

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Happy June!  We’ve got plenty of ag law news to kick off the summer. *US Supreme Court rules for landowner in Sackett v. EPA, abandons “significant nexus test” for WOTUS.  I’ll have a lengthy blog post about this decision on Monday, but meanwhile, you can read a Q&A interview I did with Progressive Cattle about the decision and what it means for agriculture here. You can also listen to me and two of the best water law professors in the country break it down on my Ag Law in… Read More →

May 5, 2023 Weekly Round Up

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Happy Cinco de Mayo!  We’re back with another ag law round up of news and articles from around the country. We’ve also got a photo of our newest addition born just yesterday from our place here in Texas. *Texas Supreme Court sides with royalty owner in post-production cost case.  The Texas Supreme Court recently sided with royalty owners in Devon v. Sheppard, a case challenging post production costs in the Eagle Ford Shale.  [Read Opinion here and Dissenting Opinion here.]  To read a good summary of the decision, click… Read More →