Agrifund LLC v. Annen Inc. - Miscellaneous Civil Lawsuit Affirmed
Summary
The Texas Court of Appeals, 7th District, affirmed a lower court's decision in the lawsuit Agrifund LLC v. Annen Inc. The case involves a dispute over the assignment of agricultural input loan payments. The court's disposition was an affirmation of the lower court's ruling.
What changed
The Texas Court of Appeals, 7th District, has affirmed the district court's order denying Agrifund LLC's application for a preliminary injunction against Annen Inc. and other appellees. The dispute centers on Agrifund's claims regarding the assignment of government farm program payments (specifically under the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program - ECAP) made to the appellees, which Agrifund alleges were pledged as collateral for loans exceeding $5 million. The appellees had already received ECAP payments before returning the necessary assignment forms to Agrifund.
This affirmation means the lower court's decision stands, and Agrifund's request for a preliminary injunction has been denied. For regulated entities, this case highlights the importance of clear contractual terms regarding collateral assignment, especially concerning future government payment programs. While this specific ruling is an affirmation of a lower court's decision and does not introduce new regulations, it underscores the legal complexities that can arise in agricultural lending and the enforcement of collateral agreements. No specific compliance actions or deadlines are mandated by this court opinion itself, as it pertains to a specific legal dispute.
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March 9, 2026 Get Citation Alerts Download PDF Add Note
Agrifund, LLC v. Annen, Inc., Levi Cattle Co., Inc., Doe Eye, LLC, Garrett Annen, Inc., Jon Mac Annen, Lesly Bosh Annen, Shelby Ray Annen, Garrett Annen, and Cody Annen
Texas Court of Appeals, 7th District (Amarillo)
- Citations: None known
- Docket Number: 07-25-00345-CV
- Nature of Suit: Miscellaneous/other civil
Disposition: Affirmed
Disposition
Affirmed
Lead Opinion
In The
Court of Appeals
Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo
No. 07-25-00345-CV
AGRIFUND, LLC, APPELLANT
V.
ANNEN, INC., LEVI CATTLE CO., INC., DOE EYE, LLC, GARRETT ANNEN, INC.,
JON MAC ANNEN, LESLY BOSCH ANNEN, 1 SHELBY RAY ANNEN,
GARRETT ANNEN, AND CODY ANNEN, APPELLEES
On Appeal from the 242nd District Court
Castro County, Texas
Trial Court No. B11213-2510, Honorable Kregg Hukill, Presiding
March 9, 2026
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before PARKER, C.J., and DOSS and YARBROUGH, JJ.
Appellant Agrifund, LLC, appeals from the district court’s order denying its
application for a preliminary injunction in its suit against appellees Annen, Inc.; Levi Cattle
1 Lesly
Bosch Annen is included in the style of the order from which Agrifund, LLC, appeals.
However, we note that this individual is not named as a defendant in the pleadings included in the Clerk’s
Record on appeal.
Co., Inc.; Doe Eye, LLC; Garrett Annen, Inc.; Jon Mac Annen; Shelby Ray Annen; Garrett
Annen; and Cody Annen. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
As this is a memorandum opinion and the parties are familiar with the facts, we will
not recite them in full detail here, but only as necessary to advise the parties of the Court’s
decision and basic reasons for it. See TEX. R. APP. P. 47.4.
Beginning in November of 2023, Agrifund advanced funds to the appellees for
various agricultural inputs. After loan modifications, Agrifund was exposed to a total of
more than $5 million in outstanding indebtedness owed by the appellees. Appellees
pledged collateral for the loans, including proceeds of government farm payment
programs. At the time the loans originated, the appellees signed CCC-36 forms, which
authorize Farm Service Agency (“FSA”) payments made to producers to be assigned to
creditors. The forms apply to then-existing farm payment programs, but not to future
programs. However, Agrifund’s witness testified that Agrifund’s loan agreements with the
appellees required the appellees to execute new CCC-36 forms for new payment
programs arising after the loans were signed.
In March of 2025, the FSA announced the Emergency Commodity Assistance
Program (“ECAP”). Agrifund provided the necessary CCC-36 forms to each appellee for
assignment of FSA payments made under the program. By the time the appellees
returned the completed forms, the appellees had already received ECAP payments.
Agrifund requested that the appellees turn the funds over to Agrifund, but they did not do
so.
2
In October of 2025, Agrifund filed suit against the appellees for breach of contract
and sought injunctive relief. Agrifund alleged that appellees have received $789,382.13
in payments from the United States Department of Agriculture and that an injunction is
required to prevent dissipation of such funds. The trial court granted Agrifund’s request
for a temporary restraining order. At a hearing on October 23, 2025, and by orders dated
November 3, 2025, the trial court denied Agrifund’s application for a preliminary
injunction. Agrifund then filed this interlocutory appeal pursuant to section 51.014 of the
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
ANALYSIS
In its request for injunctive relief, Agrifund sought an order: (1) prohibiting the
appellees “from accepting, depositing, or in any way collecting FSA payments for crop
year 2024” and directing such payments to Agrifund, (2) prohibiting the appellees “from
disbursing or in any way spending” any FSA funds for crop year 2024 they have already
received and remitting such funds to Agrifund, and (3) requiring the immediate execution
and delivery to Agrifund of form CCC-36s for the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program.
In a single appellate issue, Agrifund asserts that the trial court abused its discretion by
declining to enter a preliminary injunction to that effect.
The decision to grant or deny an injunction rests within the sound discretion of the
trial court. Butnaru v. Ford Motor Co., 84 S.W.3d 198, 204 (Tex. 2002). Accordingly, we
review the denial of an application for an injunction under an abuse of discretion standard.
An abuse of discretion occurs when a trial court acts in an unreasonable or arbitrary
manner. See Downer v. Aquamarine Operators, Inc., 701 S.W.2d 238, 241–42 (Tex.
3
1985). In reviewing the trial court’s decision, we draw all legitimate inferences from the
evidence in the light most favorable to the trial court’s judgment. RWI Constr., Inc. v.
Comerica Bank, 583 S.W.3d 269, 274 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2019, no pet.).
The purpose of a temporary injunction is to maintain the status quo of the
litigation’s subject matter pending a trial on the merits. Id. at 275. A temporary injunction
is an extraordinary remedy and does not issue as a matter of right. Id. The extraordinary
equitable remedy of an injunction must be carefully regulated and confined to proper
cases. El Tacaso, Inc. v. Jireh Star, Inc., 356 S.W.3d 740, 743 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2011,
no pet.). To obtain a temporary injunction, an applicant must plead and prove (1) a cause
of action against the defendant, (2) a probable right to the relief sought, and (3) a
probable, imminent, and irreparable injury in the interim. Butnaru, 84 S.W.3d at 204.
“Probable injury” includes the elements of imminent harm, irreparable injury, and no
adequate remedy at law. El Tacaso, Inc., 356 S.W.3d at 743. For purposes of a
temporary injunction, an injury is irreparable if the injured party cannot be adequately
compensated in damages or if the damages cannot be measured by any certain
pecuniary standard. Butnaru, 84 S.W.3d at 204.
In the instant case, the wrongful conduct alleged was a breach of contract.
Generally, monetary damages for a breach of contract are considered to be an adequate
remedy so as to preclude any injunctive relief. See RWI Constr., Inc., 583 S.W.3d at 279)
(discussing “the ancient and controlling rule [that] forecloses resort to injunctive relief
simply to sequester a source of funds to satisfy a future judgment.”). Agrifund argues that
this case meets the exception to the general rule, which applies when there is a “logical
and justifiable connection” between the claims alleged and the acts sought to be enjoined.
4
Id. at 277. Simply because an applicant for a temporary injunction seeks monetary
damages for breach of contract as its ultimate relief “does not guarantee that damages
are completely adequate as a remedy.” Walling v. Metcalfe, 863 S.W.2d 56, 58 (Tex.
1993) (per curiam). Thus, trial courts may enforce contractual rights by injunction if the
applicant presents evidence to establish that monetary damages for an alleged breach
would be inadequate. See Tex. Black Iron, Inc. v. Arawak Energy Int’l, Ltd., 527 S.W.3d
579, 586 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2017, no pet.).
It was Agrifund’s burden to establish that, absent the requested injunctive relief, it
would suffer an injury that could not be adequately remedied by monetary damages. Id.
Agrifund claims there is no adequate remedy of a money judgment because these
government payments are “the only collateral left as all crops are now gone.” Agrifund
further argues that this is a case in which the defendant is at risk of becoming judgment
proof before trial. Neither assertion is supported with a citation to the record. Agrifund’s
briefing does not direct us to evidence in the record establishing how monetary damages
would not adequately compensate it for any wrongdoing committed by the appellees.
We must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the trial court’s order and
indulge every reasonable inference in favor of the ruling. Having done so, we conclude
that the trial court could have reasonably determined that Agrifund did not meet its burden
to prove a probable, imminent, and irreparable injury requiring injunctive relief.
Finally, we briefly address Agrifund’s argument that the trial court based its
decision on an impermissible, extralegal consideration. While the trial court made a
passing reference to “the economic circumstances of our producer neighbors” before
5
orally pronouncing its decision, the record indicates that there is no conflict between the
oral pronouncement denying relief and its written order. We find no grounds for reversal
based on the trial court’s comment.
CONCLUSION
Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s order.
Judy C. Parker
Chief Justice
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