Judicial Watch: Big Hog Loses — But Not Much

Another North Carolina federal jury slammed global hog giant Smithfield Foods with a liability verdict and damage award for factory hog farm neighbors. However, the judge then ruled that no punitive damages would be allowed.

As with the previous three trials, jurors concluded that defendant Smithfield was responsible for creating a nuisance which damaged its farm’s neighbors, this time in Sampson County, and awarded the plaintiffs about $100,000 in compensatory damages. After the trial turned to the question of punitive damages, however, the judge halted the proceedings after hearing a portion of the plaintiffs’ attorney’s arguments. He ruled that insufficient evidence had been presented for the jury to justify punitive damages (which are intended to discourage deliberately bad behavior), and halted the trial. The presiding judge in this case was a different judge than the one who heard the first three trials. Plaintiffs’ attorneys said that his rulings blocked them from introducing important evidence in support of punitive damages.

In a statement, NCLCV Director of Governmental Relations Dan Crawford pointed out that the hog companies were still being allowed to get away with antiquated, polluting technology, “And they’re going to keep getting away with poisoning people unless state environmental regulators make them change their ways. That’s exactly what the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is planning to do before they renew Smithfield’s permit.”

Concerned citizens can speak out in support of getting tough on the dangerously polluting corporate factory hog farms by commenting on the proposed new rules. NCLCV makes it easy to comment here. The deadline is this Friday, December 21!

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