Logansport meat plant closing due to coronavirus
Tyson Foods Inc. announced Wednesday that it will temporarily close its meatpacking plant in Logansport in north-central Indiana after 146 employees tested positive for coronavirus.
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7th Circuit sides with supplier in second egg dispute
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled for an Iowa-based egg supplier in a second action brought against it by an Evansville-based buyer after finding that Indiana’s claim-splitting ban applied to the buyer’s new action.
State moves to restrict access to big cats in Charlestown zoo
The state of Indiana has completed its first inspection of a controversial Charlestown roadside zoo and is asking a judge for a restraining order meant to protect zoo employees and volunteers, as well as the public.
Signs opposing proposed CAFO hog farm vandalized
A dispute over a large hog farm in northern Indiana in the small community of Denver is getting nasty. Yard signs opposing the Miami County farm were removed and then returned with obscenities painted on them, the Kokomo Tribune reported.
Right to Farm case ends with denial from Indiana Supreme Court
In ultimately denying transfer, a divided Indiana Supreme Court ended a dispute that pitted neighbor against neighbor and raised questions about whether the state’s Right to Farm Act was meant to cover an 8,000-head hog operation in Hendricks County.
License of embattled Charlestown big-cat zoo revoked
The owner of a controversial Charlestown zoo that has been the subject of a bitter years-long court fight has lost his federal exhibitor’s license and is on the hook for more than $300,000 in civil penalties.
Indiana Justices hear arguments in Right to Farm dispute
A Hendricks County battle over whether a hog farming operation is protected by Indiana’s Right to Farm Act arrived at the Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday with opposing counsel arguing the limits and the intent of the statute.
COA affirms addition of farmland contractual interests in marital estate
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed the dissolution of a man’s marriage, finding the inclusion of his contractual interests in purchased farmland in the martial estate was not an abuse of discretion.
COA: Drain reconstruction project can be paid by excess maintenance funds
The denial of a petition brought by several angry landowners against a multi-county drainage board has been affirmed by the Indiana Court of Appeals after it concluded that concerns about using 75% of a maintenance fund for a local reconstruction project were unwarranted.
Farmer enters plea, will serve probation in dead cow case
An eastern Indiana farmer has pleaded guilty to one count of failing to dispose of a dead animal after an inspection found 38 dead cows on his property.
Sheriff: Apple, pumpkin heists a ‘major league operation’
A “well-organized machine” of thieves appears to be behind the theft of tons of apples and pumpkins from orchards and farms in northern Indiana and Michigan, according to authorities.
What’s the next step? The nuances of business succession planning
Indiana estate planning and business succession attorneys say often, business owners don’t like to think about what might happen to their company if they were no longer able to run it. This is also true nationwide, with Forbes reporting that 30% of businesses don’t have a formal estate plan in place.
7th Circuit tosses animal cruelty case for lack of jurisdiction
A case alleging state and private actors conspired to give false claims of animal neglect about two Washington County residents’ livestock was dismissed by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Federal court blocks Indiana law banning smokable hemp
Indiana’s law criminalizing smokable hemp has been snuffed out, at least temporarily, by a federal court, which found the proponents of hemp made convincing arguments that the federal farm bill of 2018, expanding the definition of hemp and removing the plant from the federal schedule of controlled substances, pre-empted the state statute.
Web Exclusive: ILS files labor-trafficking suit for migrant workers
A recently filed complaint on behalf of several foreign nationals who have traveled to the United States for work has Indiana Legal Services Migrant Farmworker Law Center attorney Kristin Hoffman excited.
Reversal: USDA farm wetlands ruling arbitrary and capricious
A Hancock County farm family denied U.S. Department of Agriculture benefits since the removal of nine trees from their farm in the 1990s prevailed in litigation against the agency. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals entered judgment for the family, finding USDA’s rulings in the case arbitrary and capricious.
Despite objections, 9,200-head hog farm moves forward in Miami County
A proposed 9,200-head hog farm is moving forward in northern Indiana despite opposition from residents who say it will hurt property values and environmentalists worried about its proximity to a large reservoir.
COA upholds summary judgment for maker, seller of destroyed farm equipment
Summary judgment against the insurer of a farm that suffered more than $350,000 in damage after an equipment fire has been upheld, though a partially dissenting judge would not have addressed the merits of every issue raised on appeal.
Citing evidence error, COA remands family farm dispute
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the denial of two siblings’ motion for summary judgment against their brother in a family trust case, finding that the trial court erred by considering evidence that had not been designated.
Neighbors ask for rehearing on Right to Farm Act dispute
Supporters and opponents are mobilizing after the neighbors of an 8,000-hog farm in Hendricks County asked the Indiana Court of Appeals to reconsider its earlier ruling that found their nuisance claim based on the “noxious odors” from the farming operation was barred under Indiana’s Right to Farm Act.