Abstract
Family farms are at the heart of American agricultural production. As the family farm is passed from generation to generation, family members tend to develop divergent goals regarding the farm's operation. Sadly, when divergent goals are not properly managed, family farms are paralyzed by dissension and deadlock. To resolve dissension, family farm business owners frequently seek judicial redress. Courts have not consistently resolved dissension among family farm owners and have not adopted clear principles to guide future judicial resolution of such dissension. This article proposes principles to guide judicial resolution of cases involving family farm disputes. To establish a foundation for the proposed principles, this article first discusses the importance of the family farm and the forms of business organizations family farmers traditionally use. It next discusses the causes of dissension among the owners of the family farm. After examining legislative and judicial approaches to resolving dissension on the family farm, it concludes by proposing standards for resolving disputes plaguing many family farms.
Recommended Citation
Steven C. Bahls,
Judicial Approaches to Resolving Dissension among Owners of the Family Farm,
73 Neb. L. Rev.
(1994)
Available at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nlr/vol73/iss1/4