Answered step by step
Verified Expert Solution
Link Copied!

Question

1 Approved Answer

For over fty years, Allen owned and operated a ZOO-acre dairy farm in Upstate New York. Allen inherited the farm from his father, who had

image text in transcribedimage text in transcribed
image text in transcribedimage text in transcribed
For over fty years, Allen owned and operated a ZOO-acre dairy farm in Upstate New York. Allen inherited the farm from his father, who had taught Allen the farming trade back when Allen was a young man. Allen very much-loved farming and had proven to be quite the successful dairy farmer, but the time had nally come for Allen to retire. Knowing that his children were not interested in farming, Allen knew that he had to sell the farm before he could ofcially retire. However, Allen was concerned about the ultimate fate of his farm after he was no longer its owner. Allen was very much aware that the dairy farms of Upstate New York (and those located in many other parts of the United States) were slowly dying out due to insufcient government subsidies and a nationwide oversupply of milk production. Many such farms ended-up going abandoned, but some others were sold to developers. Typically, these developers would build residential housing on the land, but in some cases the developers would convert the land into lowbrow, \"tourist-trap\" type resorts. The thought of his farm becoming a tawdry \"bingo hall\" for classless tourists made Allen's blood boil. More importantly, however, Allen understood the vital role that these farms played in the local community. Agriculture was a very important industry in rural Upstate New York, and farms, such as Allen's, were vital for the local economy. For this reason, Allen wanted to do whatever he could to make sure that his land would always be used as a dairy farm. After consulting with his lawyer, Allen was advised to transfer title of the farm using a deed that required use of the land be restricted to dairy farming. Satised with this legal advice, Allen proceeded to place the farm on the market. Several months went by, and Allen was unable to nd a buyer for his farm. Evidently, nobody was willing to buy such a large parcel of land, especially given the ongoing hardship faced by 2 farmers. After having a second consultation with his attorney, Allen made the decision to split his land into two lOO-acre parcels: a west parcel, and an east parcel. Soon afterwards, Allen was able to nd buyers for both parcels. Heeding his lawyer's advice, Alen made certain to include the following language in the deeds for both the west parcel and the east parcel: \"... the land being conveyed is to be used primarily for raising cattle or other livestock for a commercial purpose, including but not limited to the production of meats or dairy products.\" Both buyers agreed to these terms in return for a favorable price, and the closings took place as scheduled. Allen then vacated his farm and moved to Florida to begin his retirement. Soon thereafter, the buyers took possession of their land. The west parcel was sold to Rob, who, like Allen, was also a dairy farmer. Initially, Rob experienced some nancial loss from the farm. Dairy farming, after all, was a business, and Rob was running his business at a time when dairy farms were struggling. However, Rob proved to be a very clever and industrious entrepreneur. Taking advantage of any leftover milk he was not able to sell (or could not get a good price on), Rob began to produce artisanal ice cream. At rst, Rob would sell it from a stand on the side of the road by his farm to whoever happened to drive by. Eventually, word got out, and Rob began selling his ice cream to gourmet food suppliers. After a few years, ROB'S ARTISINAL ICE CREAM was in high demand by specialty food shops all over New York City. After thirty years of operating his dairy farm, Rob had grown surprisingly wealthy as a farmer and ice cream producer. Taking advantage of his success, Rob decided to retire at the somewhat early age of 70. However, before he moved to Florida to enjoy his retirement, Rob transferred ownership of the farm to his lazy, stupid son, Rob J r., by way of a quitclaim deed. Unlike his father, Rob Jr. had no interest in farming or making ice cream for a living. Within days of gaining title to the farm, Rob Jr. laid-off all the farm's workers and sold-off all the farming equipment. Rob Jr. even sold all of the artisanal ice cream recipes, which had remained secret up until that time. Given the tremendous success of ROB'S ARTISINAL ICE CREAM, every dairy producer in the Northeast was interested in those recipes. Rob Jr. was able to get a very good price for them. Once Rob Jr. gutted his father's business, Rob Jr. turned his attention to nding a buyer for the land. In the years prior to Rob Jr. gaining ownership of the west parcel, developers had been buying land in the area. A new ski resort had recently opened up nearby, and the local economy was transitioning towards tourism and away from agriculture. Developers were buying land in order to build hotels, timeshares, restaurants and retail space that accommodated these tourists. Rob Jr. was aware of this fact, and he was hoping to sell his farm to a developer. At 100 acres, Rob Jr. 's land was much larger than any other plot of land purchased by developers so far. Additionally, the farm was a mere 15-minute drive from this new ski resort, so Rob Jr. knew he'd be able to get a very good price by selling his land. Rob Jr. was correct. Within a few months, he sold the farm to a developer for a favorable sales price. Rob Jr. transferred title to the farm using a quitclaim deed he drafted using a template downloaded from the internet. He then took his earnings and moved to the south of France, and Rob Jr. was never heard from again. The west parcel was now owned by the developer, who immediately hired an architect to design a resort hotel that included multiple restaurants, retail space, an indoor swimming pool and timeshares. Right as the developer was about to break ground on the hotel, they were served with a temporary injunction ordering all construction to immediately stop pending a hearing scheduled one week later. The petition seeking a temporary injunction was filed by Turdy, the owner of the east parcel. Trudy alleged that constructing this resort hotel would be a violation of the deed restriction placed on the land by Allen eighty years earlier. Trudy had been the owner of the east parcel for the past eight years. During this time, she had successfully operated a sprawling mum farm (mum elds comprised approximately 75% of the east parcel's territory). Trudy also used the land to raise miniature horses, which she sold to petting zoos and/or animal training centers that trained service animals for people with special needs. Trudy became such a successful breeder of miniature horses that they generated more revenue for Trudy than the mum farm did, therefore she was very concerned about the animals' wellbeing. At the hearing, Trudy explained to the judge that constructing a resort hotel on the west parcel would cause an influx of tourists and commotion that would inadvertently disturb the miniature horses. This could potentially traumatize them, thus making it impossible for them to ever be trained as service animals. Trudy further indicated that most of the local businesses that once provided supplies to local farms had closed-down and been replaced with ski shops, boutiques and restaurants that catered to tourists. Trudy argued that the more farms that shut-down, the more this trend would accelerate, thus making farming in the area impractical. While developers and investors proted from tourism and the ski industry, many of the full-time residents of the area still relied on farming for their livelihood. For this reason, Trudy strongly believed that it was important for local farms to survive. Trudy eloquently conveyed her concerns to the judge. Question What is the likely outcome of this dispute

Step by Step Solution

There are 3 Steps involved in it

Step: 1

blur-text-image

Get Instant Access to Expert-Tailored Solutions

See step-by-step solutions with expert insights and AI powered tools for academic success

Step: 2

blur-text-image

Step: 3

blur-text-image

Ace Your Homework with AI

Get the answers you need in no time with our AI-driven, step-by-step assistance

Get Started

Recommended Textbook for

Essentials of Business Law

Authors: Anthony Liuzzo

10th edition

1259917134, 9781260091823, 1260091821, 1260159493, 978-1259917134

More Books

Students also viewed these Law questions