By Leisa Boley Hellwarth, a dairy farmer and attorney near Celina
Right-To-Farm (RTF) laws deny nuisance lawsuits against farmers who use accepted and standard farming practices and have been in prior operation, even if these practices harm or bother adjacent property owners or the general public. On Oct. 5, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the plaintiffs’ petition for certiorari in
Himsel v. Himsel. The Indiana Court of Appeals ruling that the plaintiffs’ nuisance and trespass claims are barred by the RTF laws stands as the final decision.
Samuel Himsel has farmed in rural Hendricks County, Indiana his entire life. His sons, Cory and Clinton, also make their living farming in the county. In 2012, the three decided to start a hog-raising operation at 3042 North 425 West in Danville. This property had been in their family for more than two decades. Samuel’s parents acquired this farmland in the early 1990s, and the land had been used for agricultura