Date: 04-28-2018

Case Style:

Case Number: 7:14-cv-00180-BR

Judge: W. Earl Britt

Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina

Plaintiff's Attorney: Eric Manchin, John S. Hughes, Lisa Blue Baron, Michael Kaeske, Jr., Lynn Bradshaw, Mona Lisa Wallace

Defendant's Attorney: Eugene E. Mathews, III, Mark E. Anderson, Tennille J. Checkovich, Christian E. Henneke, Christopher E. Trible, Darin K. Waylett, Garrett H. Hooe, Jakarra J. Jones, Michael W. Stark, Richard C. Beaulieu, Valyce M. Davis

Description: Joyce McKiver and others sued Murphy-Brown, LLC, a subsidiary of Smith Fields Foods, on a nuisance theory claiming that they were damaged and harmed as a direct result of the operation of Defendants' industrial hog operation close to their homes which denied them the enjoyment of their homes. The thousands of hogs confined in the Defendants' buildings produced offensive smells, noise and other disturbances.

Smith Fields confines thousands of hogs and flushes the waste into holding ponds and then spreads to the waste on fields in the vicinity.

Outcome: 04/26/2018 265 Minute Entry for proceedings held before Senior Judge W. Earl Britt in Raleigh: Jury Trial (Day 18) held and completed on 4/26/2018. Court notifies counsel all 10 jurors are present and have resumed deliberations. Jurors return to the courtroom. Unanimous verdict rendered and filed in open court as listed on the verdict form. Jurors excused from service. Clerk is directed not to enter judgment until briefing has been submitted by the parties. (Court Reporter - Michelle McGirr) (Herrmann, L.) (Entered: 04/26/2018)

Plaintiffs' verdict for $750,000 in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages.

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

Comments: