Civil litigation issues remain a top concern for farmers in Louisiana, especially as the prospect of coronavirus-related class-action lawsuits looms, the state’s agriculture and forestry commissioner said.
Dr. Mike Strain told the Louisiana Record that despite the state’s strong right-to-farm law, which protects farmers against nuisance lawsuits, farmers remain concerned about future litigation affecting their industry and its economic supply chain.
“A major concern of Louisiana farmers is just the higher cost of insurance for everything that we do,” Strain said. “It’s secondary to the continuous litigation that’s in all aspects of American life.”
Louisiana’s right-to-farm law provides liability protections to owners of farms who operate within recognized agricultural practices and traditions, the law states.
“There’s a presumption of non-negligence when you are engaged in generally accepted agricultural practices” Strain said.
Typically, neighboring property owners attempt to file such lawsuits against farmers, arguing that the farms operate in ways that prevent neighbors from enjoying their properties.
The right-to-farm law in Louisiana contains provisions that aim to dissuade such lawsuits, he said.
“If you are hit with a frivolous lawsuit, the court may award court costs, attorney fees and other related costs back to the defendant, meaning the farmer,” Strain said.
High on the minds of farmers during the COVID-19 era is potential litigation affecting processing plants, grain elevators or export facilities, according to the commissioner. Such lawsuits would hinder the ability of farmers to market their goods, Strain said.
“We’re going to have to analyze what happens over the course of the next several years to look at the aftermath of the pandemic” and the economic costs related to potential class-action lawsuits, he said.
But Strain doesn’t foresee any major legislation dealing with such agricultural issues coming up during the current legislative session.
Currently, farmers face a number of burdens, he said in a recent opinion piece he co-authored with North Carolina’s agriculture commissioner. These include the trade war with China, farm bankruptcies and rising food prices.
Keeping the threat of frivolous lawsuits in check will help the state’s farmers weather these tough financial times, Strain said.