Ag Law

Nebraska has long been a leading producer of livestock and other commodities. But today the State agricultural economy is changing from small, family owned farms and ranches to larger operations, managed to meet goals of feeding a hungry world while protecting the land for future generations. The Knudsen Law Firm formed its Agricultural Law Practice Group to better serve our agricultural clients in this new environment.

To meet these challenges our Agricultural Law Practice Group is a collection of professionals with broad and diverse expertise. They know real estate, insurance, asset protection, lending, business planning, water law, land use planning, permitting, estate and succession planning, bankruptcy, and litigation—legal issues facing farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses in today’s agricultural economy.

For over 30 years as a trial lawyer with the Knudsen Law Firm, Rodney Confer has handled many suits involving agriculture and agribusiness for farmers, ranchers, banks, natural resources and irrigation districts, insurance companies, the State of Nebraska, and animal pharmaceutical and feed manufacturers. His cases have involved a wide range of agricultural problems: crop insurance, feedlots and hog confinement operations, ag loans, Nebraska’s anti-corporate constitutional provision, water law, irrigation, drainage, county and township zoning, animal feed and supplements, veterinary medicine, and damage to crops, pastures, poultry and livestock. Rod’s record of success has led to being named a Super Lawyer of the Great Plains, and receiving the highest rating in Martindale-Hubble, the most widely recognized legal directory in the country.

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Richard R. Endacott has been active in the livestock industry for 40 years. He owns and manages a purebred Charolais herd that has produced top-gaining bulls at test stations, the Nebraska Beef Cattle Improvement Association's Sire of the Year and Grand and Reserve Grand Champion bulls at Nebraska’s largest beef cattle show. He has been an officer and on the board of the Nebraska Charolais Association and belongs to the Nebraska Cattlemen’s Association. Richard has applied his hands-on experience during 43 years as a trial attorney in cases running the gamut of livestock problems. He incorporated the first Maine-Anjou Cattle Association and a national hybrid cattle association, represented one of the Midwest’s largest semen sales companies, and even the American Goat Society. Richard's rare combination of legal experience and livestock knowledge allows him to represent livestock breeders competently and aggressively. He's one lawyer who won’t give you a blank stare when you mention A.I., EPD’s, or Gomer bulls.

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Jeanelle R. Lust gained her first familiarity with the ag economy growing up in rural South Dakota. Today she’s an experienced trial lawyer and Managing Partner of the Knudsen Law Firm whose clients come from all over the State. Jeanelle has done extensive study of crop and livestock lien protection in Nebraska. Some of her notable verdicts include a $3.5 million judgment arbitration arising from a feedlot embezzlement and $5.7 million against a lender for fraud in the downfall of a custom cattle feeder. Jeanelle was one of the first lawyers to become a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America.

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Trev E. Peterson has practiced in real estate law, business planning, commercial litigation and bankruptcy since he joined the firm nearly 30 years ago. He lectures extensively on real estate, commercial loan documentation and bankruptcy. A lifelong Nebraskan, Trev has represented agricultural lenders and producers through the upswings and downturns that are all too common in the agricultural economy, and he brings practical insight to agricultural issues. Trev can help farm owners take advantage of corporations and other legal entities to limit their personal liability and aid in succession planning. He provides advice in farm purchases and sales, boundary disputes, adverse possession matters, and leasing. Farmers and ranchers may also profit from Trev’s bankruptcy expertise in reorganizing their operations, where his extensive experience in representing lenders provides an invaluable contribution.

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Richard C. Reier focuses on commercial and real estate lending and has extensive experience in agricultural loans, representing both lenders and borrowers across Nebraska. Rick is familiar with loan and security structuring and documentation, farm leases, and real estate sales and purchase agreements. He has extensive experience in advising confined livestock operations on problems including permitting, zoning and environmental matters. Rick has done extensive work structuring agricultural businesses to comply with Nebraska’s Initiative 300, which restricted corporate farming before being declared unconstitutional.

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For nearly 25 years LeRoy W. Sievers has represented farmers and ranchers, irrigation districts, political subdivisions and the State of Nebraska in water and environmental law matters, such as water rights, challenges to federal agency and state actions, inverse condemnations and land use planning. LeRoy has practiced at every level of state and federal court including the U.S. Supreme Court and he has worked with farmers and ranchers from Mitchell to Tekamah and from the Niobrara to the Republican River. As part owner and active operator of a tree farm himself, LeRoy has personal experience with issues that face ag producers: boundary issues, hunting rights and chemical migration problems.

Jeanelle R. Lust

(visit our NEW website: www.knudsenlaw.com)

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New Employment book by the Knudsen Law Firm Lawyers

(Lincoln, NE – October 11, 2007) – The Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry has released the 2008 Nebraska Human Resources Manual and the Model Policies and Forms for Nebraska Employers. The Model Policies and Forms for Nebraska Employers, written by the attorneys at Knudsen Law Firm, explain employment laws in plain English, using language everyone can understand.

Kevin McManaman, editor of the Model Policies and Forms and partner at Knudsen Law Firm added, “Unfortunately, it’s often hard to know which laws are applicable, how to find them, and most importantly, what they mean to an employer. This is a concise and easy-to-use resource that everyone can navigate.”

“We are constantly striving to make Nebraska the best place to do business,” said James Berringer, Vice President of Membership and Marketing at the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry. “This is just one more way the State Chamber is looking to help your business.”

The Model Policies and Forms for Nebraska Employers provides the employer with more than 100 forms and model policies and comes with a bonus CD-ROM which allows the user to personalize and print policies, taking the effort out of creating employee handbooks, new employee paperwork, and termination and resignation documents. The Nebraska Human Resources Manual covers important workplace issues, such as how to avoid and respond to claims of discrimination, required health and safety regulations, and lawful discipline and termination procedures. The set is priced at $99 for Nebraska Chamber members and is available to order by calling 866-439-2227. A full chapter from each book is available at the publisher’s website: www.accr.biz/publications/nebraska/nebraska.

About Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry:

The Chamber is the state’s largest statewide business organization and the instrument through which business leaders can express their needs and seek sound, workable solutions to their common problems. The Chamber is dedicated to helping business grow and prosper across Nebraska. Visit: www.nechamber.com.

About Knudsen Law Firm:

Knudsen Law Firm is a multi-specialty firm with extensive experience in employment-related matters. Its employment practice ranges from day-to-day problem solving for its clients to major litigation. Visit: www.knudsenlaw.com

 

Jeanelle R. Lust

(visit our  NEW website: www.knudsenlaw.com)

 

 

 

Today the Knudsen Law Firm launched its new web-site.  Please follow the link below to find the new user friendly lay-out and to check out a few pictures of the team here at the Knudsen Law Firm.

 

Jeanelle R. Lust

(visit our  NEW website: www.knudsenlaw.com)

 

 

 

Are you afraid of E-discovery?

You should be.

The federal rules are attempting to mirror modern society and provide
mechanisms for the the discovery of electronic documents. This only
makes sense. However, the cost and potential damage rendered by
E-discovery are incalculable. E-mail and text messages are the new
telephone calls. People treat e-mail as an INFORMAL means of
communication and often little thought is given to the content of an
e-mail. Speed is valued over content. The problem: People are putting
things in e-mail that should NEVER be put in writing- EVER. And unlike
hard copy documents that may eventually be shredded under an appropriate
document destruction policy, an opponent with enough resources can
always recover deleted e-mail. E-mail is forever, and tone and context
are no longer considerations 5 years down the road, when you are trying
to justify nasty comments in an e-mail. Many companies are investing a
lot of money in E-mail retention policies, content policies etc.
However, the cheapest, easiest and best solution: PICK UP THE PHONE or
WALK DOWN THE HALL.

THINK BEFORE YOU E-MAIL!

Jeanelle Lust
Managing Partner
www.knudsenlaw.com

Estate Planning

I spent most of this week in Aberdeen SD. The big news there was the
plane crash that killed a local doctor and his son. It started me
thinking about the amount of Holiday Travel in this country and how
there is always at least one tragic accident each Holiday. Maybe there
is another thing to add to your Holiday to do list: Check on your estate
plan. No one expects tragedy, but if you are going to be travelling for
the Holidays you may sleep better knowing your affairs are in order
should something happen. Happy Holidays and Safe Travels.

Jeanelle Lust
Managing Partner
www.knudsenlaw.com

Statutes of Limitation

The first and foremost consideration in bringing a personal injury action is to evaluate it for any statute of limitations issues which would serve as a bar to bringing the suit.
Nebraska statutory law provides the relevant limitations provisions which apply to personal injury matters.
The following actions can only be brought within four years: (1) An action for trespass upon real property; (2) an action for taking, detaining or injuring personal property, including actions for the specific recovery of personal property; (3) an action for an injury to the rights of the plaintiff, not arising on contract, and not hereinafter enumerated; and (4) an action for relief on the ground of fraud, but the cause of action shall not be deemed to have accrued until the discovery of the fraud, except as provided in sections 30-2206 and 76-288 to 76-298.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-207 (Reissue 1995).
The statute of limitations period provided in § 25-207 is tolled under certain circumstances.
Except as provided in sections 76-288 to 76-298, if a person entitled to bring any action mentioned in this chapter, the Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act, the Nebraska Hospital-Medical Liability Act, the State Contract Claims Act, or the State Tort Claims Act, except for a penalty or forfeiture, for the recovery of the title or possession of lands, tenements, or hereditaments, or for the foreclosure of mortgages thereon, is, at the time of the cause of action accrued, within the age of twenty years, a person with a mental disorder, or imprisoned, every such person shall be entitled to bring such action within the respective times limited by this chapter after such disability is removed. For the recovery of the title or possession of lands, tenements, or hereditaments or for the foreclosure of mortgages thereon, every such person shall be entitled to bring such action within twenty years from the accrual thereof but in no case longer than ten years after the termination of such disability. Absence from the state, death, or other disability shall not operate to extend the period within which actions in rem are to be commenced by and against a nonresident or his or her representative.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-213 (Reissue 1995).

Jeanelle Lust
Managing Partner
www.knudsenlaw.com

Understanding non-economic damages

Non-economic damage under Nebraska statutory law is defined as meaning "subjective, nonmonetary losses, including, but not limited to, pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental suffering, emotional distress, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium, injury to reputation, and humiliation, but shall not include economic damages." Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-21,185.08(3).
Damages for pain and suffering are a somewhat difficult value to assign to a plaintiff.
The amount of damages for pain and suffering, both that suffered and that which will reasonably be suffered in the future, is peculiarly for the determination of the jury. There is no yardstick by which damages for pain and suffering can be measured and compensated. If the verdict of the jury bears a reasonable relationship to the injuries sustained, the court will not disturb it.
LeMiuex v. Sanderson, 180 Neb. 311, 317-18, 142 N.W.2d 557, 562 (1966) (citing Peacock v. J.L. Brandeis & Sons, 157 Neb. 514, 60 N.W.2d 643 (1953); Morford v. Lipsey Meat Co., Inc., 179 Neb. 420, 138 N.W.2d 653 (1965)).
With regard to the personal injury of a nonfatally injured plaintiff, a spouse may also be joined in an action under the theory of loss of consortium. Consortium has been defined by the Supreme Court of Nebraska as meaning "comfort, society, love, and protection." Guenther by Guenther v. Stollberg, 242 Neb. 415, 495 N.W.2d 286 (1993) (citing Creason v. Myers, 217 Neb. 551, 350 N.W.2d 526 (1984) (citing Sowle v. Sowle, 115 Neb. 795, 215 N.W. 122 (1927); Larsen v. Larsen, 115 Neb. 601, 213 N.W. 971 (1927))).
A parent does have a cause of action for the loss of the value of the services of a nonfatally injured child. Guenther, 242 Neb. at 416, 495 N.W.2d at 286 (citing Macku v. Drackett Products Co., 216 Neb. 176, 343 N.W.2d 58 (1984)). A child does not have a corresponding cause of action for any losses to a nonfatally injured parent, however. Guenther, 242 Neb. at 416, 495 N.W.2d at 286. The Court differentiates marital consortium from parental consortium. "[U]nlike recovery for loss of marital consortium, recovery for parental consortium involves serious problems of multiplication of claim and of inflation of damage awards." Guenther, 242 Neb. at 420, 495 N.W.2d at 288-89 (citing Hoesing v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 484 F. Supp. 478, 480 (D. Neb. 1980)). The Court also noted the problems in determining a pecuniary value of the loss to the children of a parent's society, companionship, and comfort. Guenther, 242 Neb. at 420, 495 N.W.2d at 288.

Jeanelle Lust
Managing Partner
www.knudsenlaw.com