Interesting lawsuit. I did live in an agricultural area in the Midwest, but nowhere close to a hog farm. It was beautiful during the long winter with snow covering the crowd, but when it melted you could smell the manure in the fields. I was not aware of the anerobic lagoon. Sounds like a nighmare. Here is the story:

ALEIGH
A North Carolina jury has awarded more than $25 million to a couple in the eastern part of the state who filed a nuisance lawsuit against Smithfield Foods, the world's largest pork producer, for the swarms of flies, stench, rumbling trucks and other downsides of the hog farm next door.

The verdict came on Friday after the jury deliberated for three days behind closed doors. It is the second verdict for hog farm neighbors in a series filed against Smithfield Foods.

The decision also comes in a week in which North Carolina lawmakers adopted a new Farm Act that restricts when and how neighbors can bring such claims in court in the future.

Elvis and Vonnie Williams live in Duplin County, near a 4,700-hog farm owned by Joey Carter, a former Beulaville police chief.



The Williamses did not sue their neighbor, though.

They sued Smithfield Foods as part of a legal strategy that a team of lawyers began crafting in 2014.

The lawsuits filed by some 500 residents against Murphy-Brown/Smithfield Foods are focused on the pork industry giant's continued use of "anaerobic lagoons" in which hog waste is stored behind livestock pens, then liquefied and sprayed onto nearby fields.

The lawyers went after the pork producers, contending that such a practice presents a public nuisance.

North Carolina has about 9 million hogs on nearly 2,300 hog farm operations. Iowa is the only state with more hogs, showing an inventory of about 21.8 million in 2017.

"The verdict is heartbreaking and could have severe and unforeseen economic consequences for our farmers, the pork industry and all of North Carolina agriculture," the North Carolina Pork Council said in a statement. "It is heartbreaking because the jury did not hear the full story about Joey Carter's farm — and now an honest, hardworking farmer stands to lose everything."

Hog farm advocates have been critical of the judge's decision not to let the jury visit the farms and exclude some of the evidence Smithfield Foods wanted to introduce at trial.

The jury in the first case to be heard before U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt awarded 10 neighbors $51 million. The judge reduced the award to nearly $3 million because of a state law that limits punitive damages in such cases.


"Once again, our jury system has found Smithfield’s subsidiary liable for creating a nuisance against a different set of neighbors," said Ryke Longest, director of the Duke Environmental Law and Policy Clinic. "Neighbors with active cases can still pursue these claims. But the North Carolina General Assembly enacted the North Carolina Farm Act last week to cut off access to our courts for neighbors who suffer nuisance conditions caused by large swine farms."

"The cost to replace lagoon and spray-field technology is about one million dollars per farm," Longest said. "In the end it would be much better for the swine industry to replace all the lagoons and spray-fields so that our state’s rural economy can grow with the new construction activity that lagoon conversion would bring."

Smithfield Foods has claimed that changing the technology would be too costly.


But others such as Longest contend "new technologies can eliminate ammonia emissions, odors, pathogens and reduce the risk of spills and discharges to groundwater which always exist with lagoons and spray-fields. It only requires the will to invest the money to support the growers who have supported Smithfield and to protect the neighbors who seek to be able to enjoy their property as well."

Hog farm advocates have been critical of the judge's decision not to let the jury visit the farms and exclude some of the evidence Smithfield Foods wanted to introduce at trial.

On Wednesday, the judge issued an order that prohibits any of the parties from talking about the case because of the other lawsuits in the pipeline.

It is expected that Smithfield Foods will appeal the verdict as the company said it would after the first case.

In the Williamses' case, the jury awarded $65,000 to each in compensatory damages and $12.5 million apiece in punitive damages.

Punitive damages can be awarded only after a jury finds that a defendant acted “intentionally, maliciously, or with utter disregard for the rights and interests of the plaintiff.”

But the state law that caps punitive damages limits what the Williamses can receive to no more than $250,000 each. Altogether, the jury's $25.13 million award is likely to be reduced to $630,000.


LINK:https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article214096384.html

One would think it simple- which was there first, the fields and farm, or the suing neighbors...

Naturally they sued Smithfield instead of their neighbor the farmer. Juries hate big corporations with lots of money.

This should be great for farmers, ranchers, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
Naturally they sued Smithfield instead of their neighbor the farmer. Juries hate big corporations with lots of money.

At least it wasn't an American company. A Chinese company owns Smithfield Foods. (Maybe part of the trade war )


https://www.revealnews.org/art...ricas-pork-industry/

I'm quite certain I'll be in the vast minority here, but if there is a technology out there that can mitigate the stench, the farmers should invest in it. The meat industry is going to be facing quite the battle over the coming years with militant veganism and animal rights activism on the rise. They should stay ahead of the technology curve and make it a harder battle for the activists.

Meh.

This is an old song, only some of the words changed. People constantly buy up cheap land. They buy up cheap land next to airports, firing ranges........and hog farms because the ground is cheap because of the nuisance.

And then they complain about the nuisance.

Up next.....the same people that are driving out the famers will complain about the poor quality of imported products, and the expensive cost. They'll shake their fists at the sky in anger over whose ever fault it is.........

quote:

This is an old song, only some of the words changed. People constantly buy up cheap land. They buy up cheap land next to airports, firing ranges........and hog farms because the ground is cheap because of the nuisance.

And then they complain about the nuisance.

Up next.....the same people that are driving out the famers will complain about the poor quality of imported products, and the expensive cost. They'll shake their fists at the sky in anger over whose ever fault it is.........

Your argument is based upon the premise that these individuals bringing suit purchased the land cheaply next to a known nuisance. Anerobic laggoons and the spraying on the fields is quite aromatic. Perhaps this type of real estate speculation is common in Kentucky.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

This is an old song, only some of the words changed. People constantly buy up cheap land. They buy up cheap land next to airports, firing ranges........and hog farms because the ground is cheap because of the nuisance.

And then they complain about the nuisance.

Up next.....the same people that are driving out the famers will complain about the poor quality of imported products, and the expensive cost. They'll shake their fists at the sky in anger over whose ever fault it is.........

Your argument is based upon the premise that these individuals bringing suit purchased the land cheaply next to a known nuisance. Anerobic laggoons and the spraying on the fields is quite aromatic. Perhaps this type of real estate speculation is common in Kentucky.

And yours is based upon the fact it isn't. This goes on in NC.

Anyone with half a brain researches airports to find out airplanes go there before they buy next to an airport. Same goes with farming operations. Amazingly, I grew up next to dairy farms, and some how we managed to understand farming and not sue everybody for the ghetto lottery.

I'll tell ya, there's nothing like driving near a hog farm. Doode....

quote:

They sued Smithfield Foods as part of a legal strategy that a team of lawyers began crafting in 2014.

This has been going on for 3-4 years. How many billable hours ($$$) are the lawyers going to take from that settlement? The Williamses will probably end up with 50 cents.

quote:

I'll tell ya, there's nothing like driving near a hog farm. Doode....

Even with a head cold. Clears the sinuses.

Chicken & turkey farms are intense. I used to live in Omaha, the stockyards would make you cross eyed.

A good friend is a US Marshal Court Security Officer who was in court for the entire trial. He believes that what turned the jury was the CEO of the company (not Smithfield, but a subsidiary that operates farms) testified his annual salary is 200 million dollars a year. The jury was not impressed.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
Naturally they sued Smithfield instead of their neighbor the farmer.

Let the Chinese billionaire pay.

These hog operations have become enormous. Like combine 50 normal 1985 size farms into a single operation. Around here this manure is injected into the ground behind tractors pulling hoses. These hoses go from the lagoon across roads and fields mile long hoses they look to be 4” diameter. You can tell what they are up to but is not weaponized through spraying.

All that money saved by eliminating the small hog producer can go towards a proper burial for the shit. This is the first step in your organically grown sweet corn.

My FIL bought 100 rural acres in 1973and built his house on top of a big hill. The farm behind was already there, and had been for generations. The ramped up hog farming and logoon came more than 25 years later, and it's pretty nasty. Fortunately, it's about 900 feet of elevation and about 1/3 mile away, but on the wrong summer day it's very full bodied. But, so are the turkey houses 90 degrees the other way. He also rents out the pasture surrounding the house for cattle. So, there's always some very ripe odors of some sort. My grandfather raised cattle and some hogs, but they weren't next to the house, likely by design. My FIL doesn't seem to mind, but not sure I'd want to live there.

The large livestock factories (I don't call them farms) are the problem. Too much waste concentrated in one spot. Another concern is the neighboring wells. These operations use a lot of water and can affect the water table. Semis running down roads that were built for 100 horsepower tractors pulling 125 bushel wagons. The infrastructure isn't there many times and no equitable way to update it.

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
I'll tell ya, there's nothing like driving near a hog farm. Doode....

I lived within a few miles of one growing up. We only smelled it on certain days in the hot summer when the wind carried the smell across the creek.

The smell was distinctive.

No. Your property ends at your property line. You don't get to create a nuisance beyond it, whether you were there first or not. The stench of a pig manure lagoon is unquestionably a nuisance.

quote:

Originally posted by MooneyP226:
One would think it simple- which was there first, the fields and farm, or the suing neighbors...