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 →

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 →

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 →

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 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 →

Question:  I live in a county with a stock law, so a livestock owner may not “permit” livestock to run at large.  There are several county roads that run through a pasture with cattle guards at both ends that are not fenced.  Are those livestock owners violating the local stock law? Answer:  This is a question I’ve gotten from several folks all across the state, including landowners and even a county judge.  Although it seems that those landowners allowing cattle to be on the county road would be… Read More →

Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, issued an opinion in December on an interesting issue related to fence law.  Do the statutory estray laws apply in both open and closed range counties?  According to the Attorney General, he believes that Texas courts would rule that estray laws apply in all counties, whether open or closed range.  [Read full Opinion here.] Legal Background There are several legal issues important to understanding the AG’s Opinion. Open versus closed range: There are generally two approaches to Texas fence law: open range and… Read More →