Real
Cases in Real Estate
is a weekly update on real estate law, with legal principles illustrated and
explained by lawsuits from around the country. The topics are wide-ranging for
appeal to a broad spectrum of readers including lawyers, homeowners, investors
and the general public. Andrea Lee Negroni, a Washington DC
attorney and legal writer with 25 years of experience in financial services and
mortgage law, contributes the case summaries.
Followers of
Real Cases in Real Estate will learn and be entertained by lawsuits
involving nuisance, trespass, zoning violations, deed restrictions, title
insurance, public utilities, mechanics liens, construction defects, adverse
possession, foreclosure and eviction, divorce and marital property rights,
tenants' rights, and more. Real Cases in Real Estate uncovers the
unpredictable, amusing, and sometimes outrageous disputes between next-door
neighbors, contractors and homeowners, condo boards and residents, real estate
brokers and homebuyers, and zoning administrators and developers.
Each fully
cited case summary highlights the essential law of the case and explains the
principal legal theories and concepts relevant to the outcome. Plain language
treatment makes Real Cases in Real Estate accessible to lawyers and
laymen alike.
Whether you
follow real estate law professionally or as a hobby, you'll find something new
and useful every week in Real Cases in Real Estate.
Updates
for the Week of July 9th, 2012
Agritourism is the Equivalent of Agriculture
in Tennessee, Protected by the Right-to-Farm Act.
The Tennessee Appeals Court considered a
dispute between an individual operating a farm and some of his neighbors who
claimed his farm-based activities were mostly commercial, not agricultural. The
farmer was the son of a couple who assembled 11 parcels of land into a farm in
1985. His unhappy neighbors were residents of the subdivisions that surrounded
the farm. The neighbors said that noise, bright lights, traffic and garbage
resulted from the concerts, helicopter rides, and other recreation held on the
farm. The noise, in particular, was harming their health, comfort and property
values. The neighbors characterized the farm-based music festivals, helicopter
rides and other amusements as a commercial recreational business.
Tennessee's right-to-farm act, like
those of other states, presumes that agricultural activity is not a public or
private nuisance. The presumption that agricultural activities are not a
nuisance can be overcome through expert testimony that the farming doesn't
conform to "generally accepted agricultural practices."
Unfortunately, the term "generally accepted agricultural practices"
aren't defined in the Tennessee law.
In this case, with no prior decisions to
guide it, the appeals court explained that the right to farm has evolved to
incorporate "agritourism," which essentially means farm-based hospitality.
This hospitality includes activities that allow the public to view farming and
ranching for educational, cultural and recreational purposes. Noting that
agritourism is the equivalent of agriculture under the right to farm law, the
appeals court upheld the farmer's right to conduct these activities.
VELDA J. SHORE v. MAPLE
LANE FARMS, LLC, 2012 Tenn. App. LEXIS
229 (4/11/12) [enhanced version available to lexis.com subscribers].
....
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