Agriculture › Commercial Real Estate

Supreme Court Holds Temporary Flooding Can Be A Taking

After passing on a number of Fifth Amendment issues in recent history, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear three cases this term in which the takings clause plays a prominent role. And today, the Court addressed the...more

Court Decision on Loss of Goodwill Results in Sour Grapes for Business Owners

California is one of only a few states in which a business may recover for loss of goodwill when property is taken by eminent domain, but even here there are limitations on a business' right to recover for such damages. ...more

Massachusetts Landlords Smoking Mad About New Medical Marijuana Law

Burned up Massachusetts landlords are fuming with concern over the state’s newly passed but hazy medicinal marijuana law. The law — rolling out Jan. 1 — grants medical marijuana users the right to grow a two-month supply of...more

New Taxes on Farmland Sales for 2013

If there is a chance that you may want to sell your farm, then you should think hard about getting it done before the end of 2012. There is a load of new taxes on capital gains and unearned income coming into effect on Jan....more

Legal Byte: “Boundary by Agreement:” a fence alone is not enough

California landowners can agree on a boundary between their properties. However, they have to conform to specific requirements by California law....more

Horne v. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

Brief for the CATO Institute, et al., as Amici Curiae in Support of the Petitioner for Certiorari

Property owners should not be made to suffer a needless, Rube Goldberg-style litigation process to vindicate their constitutional rights. Yet that is exactly what the U.S. Department of Agriculture seeks to impose on...more

New law gives Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax exemptions for family farms

A recent law enacted by the Pennsylvania Legislature will enable farmers to pass their family farms to future generations without having to pay Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax. With proper estate and tax planning, this law will...more

Seventh Circuit affirms exclusion of unreliable expert testimony on valuation in condemnation actions

On August 21, 2012, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion affirming the decision of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois to exclude the testimony of the landowners' expert in...more

Ley de Tierras Rurales: vence el plazo para declaración jurada

Alert in Spanish about disclosure filing required from foreign individuals or companies who own rural real property in Argentina, under the new Rural Lands Act. The act sets forth a cap on foreign ownership of rural land in...more

Potential Future Takings Do Not Give Rise to Liability

A new Court of Federal Claims opinion was handed down this month coming right out of our own Southern California backyard. The case, Stueve Bros. Farms, LLC v. the United States, deals with whether a "physical taking of...more

Enforcing "all monies" farm mortgages: Waller v Hargraves Secured Investments Ltd

The High Court has recently held that where multiple farm debts are secured by a farm mortgage, a certificate issued by the NSW Rural Assistance Authority (Authority) under s 11 of the Farm Debt Mediation Act 1994 (NSW) (NSW...more

What is Downzoning and When is it Compensable?

"Downzoning" describes a government agency's rezoning a parcel of land once previously zoned for a more intense use to a more restrictive use (e.g., changing the commercial zoning designation of an undeveloped parcel of land...more

Henmans Rural Newsletter

Henmans regular newsletter - rural issues, including: Rural diversification/development and sporting rights; New septic tank regulations Planning - moble field shelters (equine law)...more

Farm Debt Mediation Act 2011 (Vic): A new paradigm for the enforcement of farm mortgages in Victoria

Creditors seeking to take possession or other enforcement action under a farm mortgage in Victoria will need to comply with the requirements of the Farm Debt Mediation Act 2011 (Vic) (Act) failing which any such enforcement...more

The Long & Winding Road: The EPA's Amendments to the Oil Spill Prevention, Control, & Countermeasure Rules

After a lengthy delay, characterized by some as "absurd," the EPA's 2002 amendments to the Oil Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rules look like they will finally go into effect for most of the regulatory...more

Foreign Farmland Ownership

How big a threat does foreign farmland ownership pode to Brazil?...more