United States Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Indiana Right to Farm Act

On October 5, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States rejected plaintiffs’ challenge of the Indiana Right to Farm Act in the Himsel v. Himsel et al. lawsuit. The Court denied certiorari, meaning it will not consider the plaintiffs’ arguments in the case (see the Court’s minute entry on page 27). This leaves the April 23, 2019 Indiana Court of Appeals’ decision, which upheld the Right to Farm Act, in place.

The Himsel plaintiffs had asked the highest court in the country to consider whether the Indiana Right to Farm Act acted as a “taking” of plaintiffs’ property without just compensation because the Act limited the circumstances in which plaintiffs could bring a nuisance lawsuit against the neighboring hog farm. Multiple courts have rejected this idea. The Indiana trial court ruled against plaintiffs, then the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled against plaintiffs, and then the Indiana Supreme Court denied certiorari, leaving the Court of Appeals decision in place. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has also denied cert, the plaintiffs’ lawsuit is finally over.

The Himsel case—which relies on decades of Right to Farm Act cases—gives farmers, county planners, bankers, and neighbors a measure of certainty and predictability when analyzing livestock farms in rural Indiana. Contact Todd or Brianna with any questions about the Right to Farm Act in Indiana.