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May 27, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

The EPA and Army Corps unveiled their long-awaited final Clean Water Rule on May 27, 2015. The proposed rule had been pending for more than a year. 

In this Ag Law webinar, Kristine discusses the legal issues associated with flying unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as unmanned aircraft systems.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976 subjects hazardous material to federal regulation if it is solid waste.

May 7, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

A recent case from the Iowa Court of Appeals reminds us that in order to acquire title to the property of another through a prescriptive easement (a non-exclusive form of adverse possession), the plaintiff must strictly prove the elements of the claim. In this case, the plaintiff proffered no such proof.

The Minnesota Department of Revenue announced special relief last week for poultry producers in Minnesota who were impacted by the H5N2 avian influenza outbreak. The Department announced that these producers will not be assessed penalties or interest if the outbreak prevented them from filing state returns or paying state taxes on time.

A recent Fifth Circuit opinion established that a federal court has jurisdiction to review the EPA’s denial of a rulemaking petition. It did, however, go on to establish a “highly deferential” standard of review, placing upon the agency only a “slight” burden to justify its decision to decline a necessity determination.

Financial stress in agriculture creates numerous legal issues.  One of those that may not necessarily be high on the “radar screen” involves the purchasing of machinery and equipment.  Does it matter if the purchase is from a private party or an implement dealer?  It just might.  There are at least a couple of common scenarios to watch out for.

A federal court in Vermont recently denied the request of food manufacturers to enjoin the enforcement of Vermont’s new Genetic Engineering (GE) labeling law set to go into effect next year. The court did, however, also refuse to dismiss the majority of the plaintiffs’ claims. As such, the validity of the law remains unsettled, and more opinions will issue down the road.

April 27, 2015 | Roger A. McEowen

We all know that the deadline for filing the federal income tax return is April 15.

The Iowa Court of Appeals has affirmed a judgment against the plaintiff in an action where one sister was suing another for breach of trust. The defendant was ultimately granted $38,893.62 in attorney fees and expenses as litigation expenses incurred in administering the trust.

April 24, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

The Iowa Court of Appeals Wednesday reduced a damages award granted to a couple who claimed their neighbor intentionally removed trees along their fence line. The plaintiffs, were self-described “tree people” who lived on a five and one-half acre rural land parcel. Their property adjoined that of the defendant, who was a farmer.

April 23, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

In 2013, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the Iowa Recreational Use Statute did not bar a negligence action brought by a parent chaperone against dairy farmers giving a gratuitous farm tour to a kindergarten class.

April 22, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

If you are an Iowa corn farmer, you most likely have been contacted by an attorney wishing to represent you in a lawsuit against Syngenta. Since last fall, plaintiffs have filed hundreds of lawsuits alleging that Syngenta harmed the U.S. corn market by prematurely commercializing genetically modified (GM) corn seed before it was approved for import by China. 

The United States Supreme Court is today hearing oral arguments in a raisin growers’ case raising important Fifth Amendment questions.

April 16, 2015 | Roger A. McEowen

In recent years, agriculture has seen increased litigation brought by parties that are generally opposed to various types of agricultural production.  Large scale crop farming and livestock operations are in the cross-hairs, as evidenced recently by the attack in Iowa brought by the Des Moines Water Works against farmers that use field tile drainage systems to make their land suitable for cropping practices (drainage is “anti-social”) and various lawsuits brought by rural residents and activist groups against concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). 

A Missouri statute designed to limit the damages recoverable by landowners in nuisance actions against farming operations has survived its first major challenge.

In 2011, Missouri enacted Mo. Rev. Stat. §537.296, a "right to farm" statute designed to supplant the common law of private nuisance where the alleged nuisance stems from an agricultural operation.

April 15, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

The Iowa Court of Appeals again set forth the requirements to prove an easement by prescription as yet another family feud played out in the court system.

April 14, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

The Iowa Court of Appeals recently had the opportunity to interpret Iowa Code §562.5A, which, in the absence of a writing to the contrary, grants tenants the right to harvest corn stalks until the lease terminates. Little has been written about his law, which was enacted in 2010 in response to the growing value of corn stalks.

The Iowa Supreme Court has reversed a declaratory judgment from the Clarke County District Court that authorized the use of eminent domain for a controversial new water reservoir. The district court’s order had declared that a proposal by the Clarke County Reservoir Commission (Commission) to condemn private property to construct a reservoir met the “public use,” “public purpose,” or “public improvement” requirements of Iowa Code §6A.24(2).

April 8, 2015 | Roger A. McEowen

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In a blogpost yesterday, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and Assistant Secretary of the Army Jo-Ellen Darcy announced that their offices had sent a draft final version of what's been called the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule to the Office of Management and Budget on April 3. The controversial rule, which the EPA and the U.S.

April 3, 2015 | Roger A. McEowen

As the general economy continues to struggle, the farm economy will have another tough year.  Crop prices have declined significantly from where they were a couple of years ago, and financial stress among producers is increasing.  In the general economy, the March 2015 jobs report tells an awful tale – a record 93.175 million Americans 16 years old and older are not working, the January and Feb

April 2, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

On April 1, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit admonished the USDA for denying farm program benefits to a farmer and forcing him to “navigate a bureaucratic labyrinth,” all the while “demonstrat[ing] a disregard for its own regulations.”

April 1, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

April Fool's Day seems the appropriate time to highlight what's become a near daily mantra: beware of tax-related scams and schemes. Unfortunately, these warnings continue because the sophistication of the scammers is exploding. No longer is it merely the naive who are being sucked in by these scams.

March 30, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Iowa recently ruled in favor of the debtors in an adversary action brought by their bank. The bank argued that the debtors’ obligations under a promissory note and an agricultural security agreement should be excepted from discharge in their Chapter 7 bankruptcy under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(6).

March 27, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

The Iowa Court of Appeals recently affirmed a judgment in favor of one brother against another in a case alleging breach of an oral contract for the sale of hay.

The Iowa Court of Appeals recently had the opportunity to interpret a family settlement agreement. Determining that the agreement was unambiguous, the court affirmed the district court’s interpretation.

March 27, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

USDA has just announced that owners and producers will have one more week to reallocate base acres or elect between Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC). The new deadline for both activities is now April 7, 2015. This marks the second extension for owners to update their yield histories or reallocate base acres.

This article was updated on March 27 to include a section addressing termination of a lease for nonpayment of rent. This section can be found on page five.

There are numerous concepts associated with creating an effective lease for a farming operation.  A good lease can be a useful tool, but a lease that is inadequate can cause uncertainty and create problems.  Also, income tax, social security tax, estate and business planning as well as other economic issues are associated with farm leases.

March 26, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

The Iowa Court of Appeals recently upheld a $212,340 verdict in favor of an Iowa businessman in his fraudulent misrepresentation lawsuit against a former employer.

March 25, 2015 | Roger A. McEowen

The drop in crop prices in recent months has introduced financial strain for some producers.  Bankruptcy practitioners that we know are reporting an increase in clients dealing with debt workouts and other bankruptcy-related concerns.  We will produce a technical article for TaxPlace on the debt discharge rules for farmers, but below is an outline of the basics.

The 2014 Farm Bill was enacted into law in early 2014.  It contains the farm program rules that will govern participating farmers for the next five years.  Under the new rules, the total amount of payments that an individual or entity can receive either directly or indirectly (except for a joint venture or general partnership) for any crop year is $125,000.  Spouses are able to double that amou

March 23, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

The Court of Appeals determined that damage from “rainwater” flowing from a broken interior pipe into a business was not damage “caused by rain” so as to be excluded from coverage under the policy. On Friday, the Iowa Supreme Court disagreed, vacating the Court of Appeals decision, and affirming the district court’s summary judgment in favor of the insurance company. 

March 23, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

The ACA "relief" saga continues. On Friday, March 20, after discovering more erroneous Form 1095-As, the Treasury Department issued "expanded" relief .

There have been numerous cases in recent years involving farmers who have been found to have violated a patent on seeds and had to pay a tidy sum as a result.  One question came into us recently about whether a payment a farmer had to make to settle a claim concerning patented seeds that he illegally saved, replanted and also resold could be deducted. 

March 16, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

On March 16, 2015, the Des Moines Board of Water Works Trustees (DMWW) followed through on its January threat and filed a federal Clean Water Act (CWA) lawsuit against the supervisors and drainage districts of three Iowa counties. The lawsuit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, alleges that the supervisors, in their capacity as trustees for the drainage districts, are operating the drainage districts in an “unlawful and antisocial” manner that is contrary to the “public health and welfare.” 

March 19, 2015 | Roger A. McEowen

2013 marked the beginning of major changes in the estate planning landscape. While there had been significant changes to the transfer tax system before 2013, particularly with respect to the changes wrought by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Recovery Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), the EGTRRA changes expired after 10 years. 

March 19, 2015 | Roger A. McEowen

We’ve received a lot of questions recently involving how to treat unharvested crops at death for tax purposes.  It’s a great question.  We’ll develop a technical piece for TaxPlace on the topic, but here we go over the basic issues that arise and the general rules.

March 18, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

Readers interested in the new Des Moines Board of Water Works federal lawsuit may have followed another federal lawsuit last year, the "California egg case" as it was often called. These readers may be wondering, “What ever happened to that egg case?” The answer is that it’s still winding its way slowly through the federal court system. The status of Missouri v. Harris, No.

March 16, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

The Des Moines Board of Water Works Trustees has filed its complaint against the Supervisors of Calhoun, Sac, and Buena Vista Counties in their capacities as trustees of Iowa drainage districts.

March 13, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

The Iowa Utilities Board ruled this week that Dakota Access, LLC, substantially complied with Iowa law when it notified landowners of its plans to seek a permit to build an oil pipeline across their property.

March 12, 2015 | Roger A. McEowen

We had an interesting question come into the office recently.  The question involved the tax treatment of a biofiltration system for a farmer.  I wasn’t familiar with the concept so I did a little research to find out exactly what a biofiltration system is.  Basically, biofiltration removes contaminates (such as nitrates) in water by metabolizing microorganisms as the water flows past.

March 11, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

It can be hard to convince a court that money advanced from one party to another for a business purpose is a gift. It’s going to be even harder when you’re arguing on behalf of someone who has died.

As threatened in January, the Des Moines Board of Water Works Trustees voted today to proceed with a federal Clean Water Act (CWA) citizen lawsuit against the supervisors of three Iowa Counties.

March 9, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

The legal wrangling over the validity of local ordinances seeking to stop the growing of Genetically Engineered Organisms (GMO) continues in Hawaii. At the center of the litigation is United States Magistrate Judge Kurren, who, last Thursday, ruled that a state court action seeking a declaration that a Maui County GMO ban is legally valid was properly removed to federal court.

Since 1985, the Iowa Supreme Court has recognized an implied warranty of workmanlike construction for homeowners. The purpose of the warranty is to address the disparity in bargaining power and expertise between the consumer and a sophisticated builder-vendor. It provides the homeowner a cause of action against the builder where the house, when sold, was not reasonably fit for its intended purpose or had not been constructed in a good and workmanlike manner. 

March 6, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

State laws differ in the protections they grant to landowners facing eminent domain.

March 5, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

Last fall, we fielded a number of calls at the Center from Iowa landlords whose tenants failed to make their rental payments on time. In most of these cases, the tenant was offered the right to make the yearly payment in two installments, one at the beginning of the lease term and the other six months later.

March 3, 2015 | Roger A. McEowen

A recent decision by the Illinois Court of Appeals involved a small farm that a town tried to zone out of existence.  The case involved the town's ability to zone agricultural activities and the state's right-to-farm law.  The plaintiff, a small town of 230 people, sued the defendants, a married couple, for violating a town ordinance which declared commercial farming within the town boundaries

March 2, 2015 | Kristine A. Tidgren

In a last-minute announcement, the IRS has declared that farmers waiting for a corrected 1095-A will have until April 15 to file their returns and pay their taxes.

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