Many landowners might have read the headlines about the Supreme Court’s wetland decision this year – Sackett v Environmental Protection Agency – and breathed a sigh of relief: “Finally, we can fill a little puddle on our own property without the government intruding on ...Read More

The drum beat toward renewable energy continues. Recently, Minnesota enacted new legislation requiring that 100% of the State’s energy be produced from carbon-free sources by 2040. This is not a distant, far-off goal. Though some new technologies might fill the gap, the obvious sources ...Read More

Real Estate often serves as the primary collateral for a loan, and for good reason. Compared to personal property, real estate tends to depreciate less, cannot be absconded with, and oftentimes is simply more valuable than items of personal property. For this reason, lenders ...Read More

The Minnesota Court Supreme Court recently issued a decision concerning which watercourses in the state could be treated as “public waters” under various state statutes and regulations. The case arose out of a petition to improve Renville County Ditch 77 by cleaning the outlet ...Read More

The success of cash crop farming in Minnesota is due in large part to the work our ancestors in this state did to convert wet and even flooded property into dry farmland. Through systems of open ditches and buried pipe, land was made farmable ...Read More

The distinction between a security interest and a mortgage is easy to understand: a security interest under Article 9 of the UCC is used for personal property, and a mortgage is used for real estate. Rarely is there any confusion between these two. However, ...Read More

Financing loans are commonly secured by automobiles, boats, and recreational vehicles which serve as an effective source of security in the event of a default. So long as the vehicle is able to be located and in good condition, it can typically be easily ...Read More

The Minnesota Court of Appeals recently decided a case involving a dispute between two financial institutions that may have important impacts on how to approach settlement negotiations with defaulting borrowers going forward. The lawsuit involved Student Loan Finance Corporation (“SLFC”) which was indebted to ...Read More

A seriously dishonest or desperate borrower, even if relatively rare, can be the cause of the biggest losses a lender may face. Many loans are extended on the assumption that the bank has sufficient collateral—whether real estate, equipment, receivables, or other property—to repay the ...Read More

While cash crop farming in Minnesota is still largely dominated by corn and soybeans, there has been a recent rise in alternative crops and alternative farming practices. Some farmers are exploring new crops such as industrial hemp, while others have adopted organic farming practices ...Read More