Cows break free, defecate on neighboring organic farm's crops, spur $210,000 lawsuit

An Aurora organic farm is suing a co-founder of New Seasons and his son, saying they failed to stop their dairy cows from escaping and defecating on the farm's crops.  The $210,000 lawsuit states that the cows belonging to Chuck Eggert and his son, Charlie Eggert, forced neighboring Simington Gardens to throw out its contaminated winter squash and leafy greens and shut down the field for 120 days because of the exposure to manure. The cows got out of a gated enclosure about midnight on April 16, 2014. "Eventually, after several hours, defendants rounded up the cows and returned them to defendants' dairy," the suit states.  Simington Gardens was founded by Michael Simington nine years ago, according to the certified organic farm's website. The operation sells produce to grocery stores including New Seasons Markets in addition to Portland-area farmers markets and restaurants.