hog nuisance lawsuits
Court of Appeals rules NC lawmakers were within their authority to all but outlaw hog nuisance lawsuits
A three-judge panel from the state Court of Appeals unanimously ruled against an environmental justice group today, deciding that North Carolina legislature had the authority to make it difficult, if not impossible, for people to sue hog farms for nuisance.
Environment 2020: A year of major wins, but also major losses
If it didn't create air pollution, I'd burn my 2020 calendar. A terrible, awful year, despite a few, albeit significant environmental wins. Climate change, of course, continued unabated. Otherwise, without a massive coal ash spill or major hurricane to capture the public's attention, the environmental losses were quieter, more piecemeal, albeit also significant...
The war on the environment in 2018: Five stories that mattered
2018 will go down as the Year of So Much Winning. When the smoke clears from the manufactured border crisis, foreign policy SNAFUs, financial meltdowns, presidential Twitter tantrums, and other mind-boggling behavior from the executive branch, we can also see an EPA in complete disarray...
Another editorial calls for an end to destructive pollution from Chinese-controlled hog farms
The chorus of voices calling on the Chinese conglomerate known as the WH Group to clean up its North Carolina hog farms continues to grow. After noting the just nature of the recent massive court verdicts in favor of hog farm neighbors who have been victimized by farm pollution and the unfortunate efforts of state […]
Fact-checking the allegations lodged about hog farms at the National Ag Leaders Roundtable
The language was bellicose, the atmosphere hostile. The statements, sometimes hypocritical. With less than 24 hours’ public notice, US Rep. David Rouzer convened a “National Agriculture Leaders Roundtable” at the state fairgrounds on Friday morning. To a room packed with contract swine growers, representatives from the USDA, farming interest groups and state elected officials — including […]
This week’s top stories on NC Policy Watch
1. Powerful new hog trial testimony puts Smithfield back on the defensive By Lisa Sorg As a former police officer and firefighter, Wesley Sewell has encountered odors so putrid that they would make most people retch. He’s even ranked the smells. No. 1 “is when I had to remove burning bodies from a plane crash,” […]
Columnist debunks myth-making by Forest, Troxler on industrial hog farms
Be sure to check out columnist Ned Barnett’s latest entry in this morning’s edition of Raleigh’s News & Observer in which he debunks the dishonest politicizing/pandering in which Lt. Gov. Dan Forest and Ag Commissioner Steve Troxler have been engaged of late on the subject of industrialized hog farming. This is from Barnett’s column (“A […]
Rep. Jimmy Dixon breaks the crass-o-meter: Farm families “raped” by Texas lawyers
Rep. Jimmy Dixon of Duplin County is notorious for eructing coarse pronouncements and unfounded accusations in public. For example, during one committee meeting , the Duplin County Republican recommended Gov. Cooper get a “spanking” and in another, claimed the Cape Fear public utility was politicizing levels of GenX in Wilmington’s drinking water. But his […]
Bill to limit hog nuisance suits passes; coalition of nonprofits urges gubernatorial veto
The controversial North Carolina Farm Act was sent to Gov. Cooper today after the state Senate concurred with the House amendments. The bill has attracted intense opposition from a variety of parties, including environmental advocates, rural advocacy groups. trial lawyers and even some Republicans. Last night, veteran GOP lawmaker John Blust of Guilford County delivered […]
WATCH: Republican legislator chide colleagues on rushed process, legislation to protect “one giant corporation” (video)
If you missed it with this week’s marathon sessions at the General Assembly, be sure to take 14 minutes this weekend to listen to Rep. John Blust repeatedly challenge his colleagues on the House floor for their efforts to rush through the controversial Farm Act. (As Policy Watch’s Lisa Sorg has reported SB 711 would […]
Analysis: Besides the money, why the plaintiffs’ win over the hog industry is so historic
For an industry used to getting its way, the jury’s verdict was a stunning rebuke. On Thursday in federal court, the jury awarded 10 plaintiffs who live adjacent to an industrialized hog farm $75,000 each in compensatory damages, plus another $5 million apiece for punitive damages. The total: Upward of $50 million, an historic amount, […]