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Hogs and Justice
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Tomorrow I'm giving a speech to the American Bar Association in San Diego about the role of "common law," i.e. tort law, in protecting our environment. Among other things, I plan to tell them how a Jackson County, Missouri jury recently slapped Premium Standard Farms with a $4.5 million nuisance damages verdict. PSF is a major meat producer that operates "concentrated animal feeding operations" in which thousands of hogs or chickens are confined in factory farm facilities. The $4.5 million verdict was to compensate a group of rural residents from the unbearable stench caused by PSF's massive hog feedlot in northwest Missouri. This kind of legal action is a powerful complement to the kind of environmental law that the Sierra Club specializes in - the enforcement of statutes like the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Superfund, etc. We have used these laws to protect communities from noxious feedlots in places like Kentucky, Oklahoma and Alabama, and we welcome the added umph that the trial lawyers bring to the table. Congratulations to Charlie Speer who led the charge on the PSF victory.
posted by Pat Gallagher
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