Category Archives: Fence Law

November 15, 2024 Weekly Round Up

Lots of ag law news the last couple of weeks–let’s get you caught up! * Update on Cedar the goat.  You all may remember this prior blog post about a lawsuit between a 4-H member and a number of defendants after a dispute arose over the fate of a show goat at the county fair.  Last week, the County, sheriff’s office, and three officers agreed to settle the case for $300,000.  The lawsuit remains active against the Shasta District Fair, the Shasta Fair Association, and several officers of… Read More →

Questions from Tiffany’s Desk: What Is Happening with the Stock Law Election in Brazos County?

***UPDATE***  Brazos County voters voted 70% in favor of the stock law.  However, the county announced shortly after election day that the stock law was on hold due to some questions about the process of the election.  [Read more here.] Question:  What is happening with the stock law election in Brazos County? Answer: This is a question I have gotten several times over the past couple of weeks. Background Brazos County voters will see two propositions on the ballot this November.  Proposition A involves the adoption of a… Read More →

Fence Boundary Dispute Involves Adverse Possession Claim

The ownership of forty-two acres was in dispute in Best v. Thornton, a case involving claims of adverse possession when a barbed-wire fence was built off the property line decades ago. Background In 1975, Randolph Best’s grandmother deeded him a one-third undivided interest in two contiguous tracts of land.  The remaining two-thirds undivided interest were deeded to the remaining Appellants in this case.  One tract contained 322 acres and the other contained 320 acres, for a total of 642 acres. In 2020, a survey was conducted in conjunction with… Read More →

Case Addresses Fence Boundary Line Dispute Between Neighbors

The Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston recently ruled in Malhorta v. Quintanilla, a lawsuit that involved a boundary line dispute and the location of fence and debris. Background Mr. Quintanilla and Mr. Malhorta are neighboring landowners.  Quintanilla filed a lawsuit against Malhorta seeking damages for trespass because of a fence encroaching on his property. Quintanilla hired a surveyor who concluded that the fence dividing their two properties encroached onto Quintanilla’s property.   As early as 2017,  Quintanilla requested Malhorta move the encroaching fence to the property boundary line…. Read More →

Court Sides with Landowner in Fence Law Case Following Collision on Highway

The First Court of Appeals in Houston recently issued an interesting opinion in Arraby Properties, LLC, v. Brown, a case where a driver collided with a cow on a state highway.  [Read Opinion here.]  The case highlights several important points related to fence law and also includes a dissenting opinion that is likely concerning to both landowners and livestock owners alike. Background Paul Brown was driving home from work when he hit a cow on State Highway 225 in Harris County, Texas.  He was diagnosed with mild cognitive… Read More →

Webinar – Fence Laws: Corralling Legal Issues & Livestock

Fence law is one of the topics about which I get the most questions.  It is also the topic about which I think there may be the most misinformation.  In light of that, I teamed up with Rusty Rumley from the National Agricultural Law Center to host a webinar about fence law.  You can view the recording here. For those of you in Texas, we’ve got a couple of additional resources. First, we have a short handbook written for Texas landowners and livestock owners outlining the key fence… Read More →

Second Edition – Five Strands: A Landowner’s Guide to Fence Law in Texas

Back in 2017, we published Five Strands: A Landowner’s Guide to Fence Law in Texas.  This handbook was the first resource of its kind to gather together information about Texas fence law in one easy-to-read, landowner-friendly publication.  Thanks to you all, it was extremely popular. Now, five years later, we are releasing our Second Edition.  There have been numerous new cases and opinions issued that landowners and producers need to be aware of, and this new handbook will allow you to do just that. To download your free… Read More →

Court Addresses Property Line Dispute Involving Fence and 100-Year Old Agreement

The El Paso Court of Appeals recently considered Eggemeyer v. Hughes, a case involving a disputed boundary line.  At issue was a 100-year old agreement regarding the proper boundary line that referred to certain mesquite trees and rock piles, a fence line drawn on a decades-old survey, and the ownership of 90 acres of land.  [Read opinion here.] Background This case involves a dispute over a fence in Reagan County depicted in the 1939 survey map below.  Hughes owns Section 7 and Section 8.  The Eggemeyers own Sections 3… Read More →

Fence Law Webinar and Interview

Fence law is one of my favorite topics.  If you own or lease land, this is likely a topic that interests you as well!  I’ve recently had a couple of opportunities to chat about fence law and I wanted to share those with you. First, I was invited to present on Texas Fence Law for the TAMU AgriLife Extension Range Webinar Series.  This presentation focuses specifically on fence law in the Lone Star State.  To watch, click here. Second, I was a guest on my friend Cari Rincker’s… Read More →

2020 Agricultural Law Year in Review – Texas

If you missed our National Year in Review post, click here.  I am not sure I can remember a year with more agricultural law-related opinions being issued by Texas appellate courts. From fence law to eminent domain, hemp to liability, here are some of the biggest legal stories of 2020 from the Lone Star State.   Dicamba Registration Vacated, New Registration Issued, Lawsuit Filed Although this is a national issue, and we addressed it in more detail on our National Year in Review post, because it had such… Read More →