US Supreme Court to hear case that could raise price of pork
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments over a California animal cruelty law that could raise the cost of bacon and other pork products nationwide.
Agriculture
-
Hendricks County hog-farm fight gets even messier
Plaintiffs assert the defendants are pursuing litigation to retaliate and deter the Hoosier Environmental Council from helping residents of rural communities push back against “the powerful livestock industry” and protect themselves from the pollution caused by factory farms.
Read More -
Midcareer professionals offered chance to grow through IU McKinney, Purdue degree program
Professionals who are decades deep into their careers and who may have a yearning for more knowledge on legal and agriculture matters now have an opportunity to set themselves apart in their fields through a first-of-its-kind degree program offered by Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law and Purdue University.
Read More -
Draining protection: Deregulation bill sends conservationists scrambling to save Indiana wetlands
A controversial bill that would do away with state regulation of Indiana’s wetlands is on the fast track to becoming law, throwing environmental agencies and conservation advocates into a frenzy. Farmers and land developers support the legislation, arguing wetland regulations are burdensome.
Read More -
SCOTUS rejects petition to hear Indiana Right-to-Farm dispute
A protracted dispute between a concentrated animal feeding operation in Hendricks County and its neighbors ended Monday with the U.S. Supreme Court denying certiorari to the nearby homeowners who claimed the odor from the 8,000 hogs disrupted their lives and diminished their health.
Read More
Articles
Inotiv subsidiary reaches settlement in animal welfare lawsuit
The local subsidiary of West Lafayette-based pharmaceutical testing company Inotiv Inc. has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the company announced Monday.
High court backs businesses challenging California labor law
The Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with California agriculture businesses in their challenge to a state regulation that gives unions access to farm property in order to organize workers. As a result of the ruling, California will have to modify or abandon the regulation put in place in 1975 after the efforts of labor leader Cesar Chavez.
Counterclaim in Hendricks County CAFO fight tossed by trial court
With a simple “no,” the Hendricks Superior Court uprooted a pair of counterclaims that sprouted from nearly six years of litigation between long-time neighbors over a concentrated animal feeding operation that called into question the constitutionality of Indiana’s Right to Farm Act and asked the U.S. Supreme Court for a review.
Egg dispute back in court over allegations of cracked contract
A dispute between farming companies over egg production and chickens snatched from their coops will return to court to address two breach claims after the Indiana Court of Appeals partially reversed a dismissal.
7th Circuit rules for egg supplier in spoiled contract case
Despite a buyer’s ruffled feathers, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld judgment for an egg supplier in a contractual dispute. Further, the appellate panel remanded for the calculation of interest and fees resulting from the cracked relationship.
COA rules for property owners in easement dispute with hunting club
A Dearborn County hunting club can’t use an easement to access its business, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled, affirming a judgment for adjoining property owners who claimed the club violated the terms of the easement.
Wetlands deregulation bill advances to Indiana governor
Lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to a disputed bill seeking to remove protections from Indiana’s already diminished wetlands amid mounting criticism that the legislation could cause damage to the state’s waterways, wildlife and vegetation.
COA affirms $245K judgment against brother in family farm dispute
An order for a brother to pay nearly $245,000, including more than $100,000 in attorney fees, in a dispute with his siblings over a breach of their mother’s revocable trust was affirmed Friday by the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Will dispute between siblings over family business assets remanded
A son who inherited the family business from his father must make his assets available for an appraisal after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined he may have received a “gift” subject to an abatement.
SCOTUS gives Georgia win in water war with Florida
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously for Georgia on Thursday in its long-running dispute with Florida over water. The Sunshine State had alleged overconsumption of water in the Peach State led to collapse of the Florida Gulf Coast oyster industry.
SCOTUS seems ready to rule against unions in farm case
The United States Supreme Court appeared ready Monday to side with two California agriculture businesses that want to bar labor organizers from their property, a case that could be another blow to unions.
House passes immigration bills for farmworkers, ‘Dreamers’
The House has voted to unlatch a gateway to citizenship for young “Dreamers,” migrant farm workers and immigrants who have fled war or natural disasters, giving Democrats wins in the year’s first votes on an issue that faces an uphill climb in the Senate.
IU McKinney and Purdue unveil new joint degree program
Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law is partnering with Purdue University to create the first agricultural economics and law program in the nation, the Indianapolis law school has announced.
Fowl investment gone foul leads to reversal at COA
Despite ruffled feathers among parties involved in a bird investment project, a nearly $40,000 judgment for the investor has been reversed after a split Indiana Court of Appeals determined the trial court applied the wrong law in awarding relief.
Indiana Senate approves bill to deregulate wetlands
The Indiana Senate has passed controversial legislation that would repeal state oversight of wetlands. Some lawmakers in both parties, however, said the law goes too far and would interfere with regulatory or judicial review of multiple pending cases.
Scott County party barn lawsuit untimely, COA affirms
A panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed for the Scott County Board of Commissioners and other defendants in a dispute brought by a farm owner who dislikes the idea of having a barn event venue constructed next to her home.
Lawsuit alleges Purdue breached contract in Peru projects
Siblings who contacted Purdue University about helping to lower the alpaca mortality rate in their native Peru are now suing, claiming the West Lafayette school has garnered millions of dollars from additional projects they helped establish but is refusing to pay them for their work.
Plaintiffs in protracted CAFO litigation hit with counterclaim
Farmers and neighbors who battled over an 8,000-hog confined animal feeding operation in Hendricks County are starting a second round of fighting with the farmers filing a counterclaim, arguing the lawsuit brought by their neighbors and litigated for multiple years through four courts was “frivolous.”
Mount Vernon man allegedly failed to pay for $250K of timber
A southwestern Indiana man faces more than three dozen charges alleging that he failed to pay for $250,000 worth of timber he purchased over a two-year period.