Successful Cases


Notable Cases:
                              In re Wells County FSA:  Producer was penalized over 1 million dollars for a converted wetland and planting violation.  Was able to effectively prove that producer did not convert the wetland and also that planting violations should be consolidated.  Outcome was producer’s penalty was reduced to roughly $2,400.00.

                               In re Steuben County FSA:   Producer was penalized over $80,000 and not eligible for USDA program benefits for wetland conversion.  Was able to effectively prove that the violation was due to a third party.  The penalties for the producer were removed and producer regained program eligibility. 

                              Belork v. Latimer:  Case regarding the Indiana Fence Law.  Trial Court struck down the longstanding Indiana fence law application.  Was successfully able to get the matter overturned by the Indiana Court of Appeals.
              
                              In Re SA  Farms:  Farm Service Agency denied various programs to producer.  Was able to prove that producer should not have been denied and successfully had producer’s program benefits restored.

                              Edsall v. Great American:  Producer had crop insurance denied based upon alleged issues with his planter.  Was able to successfully prove that crop losses were not planter related, but rather weather related.                

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Estate Planning, Medicaid Preparation, or Both?

Image
 In our last article the discussion centered around the importance of planning in advance for the possibility of needing Medicaid in the future.   Essentially the idea being to plan for the worst, and hope for the best.   This type of forethought is imperative given that Medicaid requires planning to occur at least five years in advance of needing assistance with paying for the costs of home assisted living or long-term nursing care. The Medicaid Estate Recovery Program allows the government to place a lien on any real estate owned by the Medicaid recipient after death. If you are 55 years and older, and receive Medicaid coverage, your assets are subject to a Medicaid lien without the proper planning.    Depending on the level of care needed, according to recent Genworth figures, the average cost of assisted living is $4,500 per month, and the average monthly cost of skilled nursing is $8,910. Failing to plan for how to pay for these costs can result in the loss of a family farm, or
Read more

Medicaid-Why you and your farm should care.

Image
Medicaid – What is it and why should you (and your farm) should care? Our law firm frequently gets calls from clients wanting to inquire about making a Last Will and Testament or appointing someone as Power of Attorney.   This is quite often prompted by the death of a loved one, the diagnosis of an unexpected illness, or being told of a negative estate experience by a friend or neighbor.   Estate planning at any stage of life is something we would always encourage, but there is an aspect of planning that we often times find overlooked and that is planning in advance for Medicaid. There is much confusion about not only the difference between Medicare and Medicaid, but how and what each program covers specifically.   For the purposes of this article, we will be focusing the discussion on long term care needs such as the expense of a nursing home.   For that discussion, the only important thing to note about Medicare, including Medicare supplement insurance, is that it will not cov
Read more

Traditional Method of Farm Succession Planning Broken…. Here is How to Fix it. Part V-Land Division to Heirs.

Image
      (Note: This is part 5 of a 5-part series regarding the authors’ view that farm estate planning in this country is broken and needs fixed, especially in light of “Farm Estate Armageddon” that will happen this decade when ¼ of all farmers retire and 2/3 of all farmers will be over the age of 65.   Past articles can be viewed at www.farmlegacy.blogspot.com .               The year was 2007.   I was 2 years into practicing law and once a month my dad and I would meet with fellow farmers at a neighboring farm to discuss grain marketing.   A grain marketer, Steve, would facilitate the meetings.   For as long as I live, I will never forget a particular meeting when Steve showed up and passed out a packet of information that centered on the coming ethanol boom and how it would change things.   Steve looked at us and said “Boys, be glad you bought ground when you did”.   Steve also told us that we would all be raising just corn in the future as the ethanol demand would push corn con
Read more