LINCOLN -- When a farmer who has been renting farmland dies, his surviving heir must be notified before that lease agreement can be terminated, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Friday.
The ruling came in a Howard County case involving a farmer, Kenny Wilson, who had an oral, year-to-year lease to rent farmland for cash from Allan Fieldgrove.
Under Nebraska law, farmers must get at least six months' notice before such a lease can be terminated.
In August of 2007, Wilson died, midway through that year's lease.
Wilson's widow, Cindy, and her sons continued to farm the leased ground and, on at least four occasions, told Fieldgrove they intended to continue farming the land in 2008.
When they learned that Fieldgrove planned to sell the land at auction, the Wilsons refused to abandon the property, and a legal dispute arose.
A local judge ruled in favor of the Wilsons, and the Supreme Court agreed: the leasehold interest, and the right to notification, transfers to a farmer's heirs upon their death.
The court noted that Friday's case was the first time they had ruled on the issue of heirs' rights in a farm lease.
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
