CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - The owner of a popular Christmas tree farm can continue leasing the land from his parents despite their insistence that he stop, a judge ruled.
Last week’s decision ends one chapter in a family feud that’s kept the 600-acre Rossview Farm shuttered for two winters, the Concord Monitor reported (https://bit.ly/1rQWkmV).
The judge ruled that Don Ross has the right to lease the land and manage its crops, which include blueberries and strawberries. The judge also ruled that Ross owns nearly all the 8,100 Christmas trees.
The farm shut down in 2014 during a legal dispute between Ross and his parents, Wayne and Ruth Ross. The couple moved to evict their son in 2013, claiming he never paid $21,000 owed in a lease agreement. The case went to trial in February.
In a brief and ambiguous plan drafted in 2006, Ross’ parents said they planned for their son to take on management of the farm. Wayne and Ruth Ross argued the lease was only for one year; Don Ross claimed it was meant to last until they died.
The decision does not establish what will happen to the farm when the couple dies.
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Information from: Concord Monitor, https://www.cmonitor.com
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