Judge sets timetable for hog farm nuisance lawsuits in N.C.

Litigation against alleged pollution by the hog industry in eastern North Carolina will move forward with two test cases in April 2018, a federal judge ruled this week. U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt said the initial trial would involve up to 10 plaintiffs with similar accusations against the hog farms, which are accused of releasing noxious fumes, making disruptive noise and expelling liquid excrement into the surrounding areas, according to U.S. News and World Report. The original lawsuits involved more than 500 neighbors of hog farms and those accused include a subsidiary of Virginia-based Smithfield Foods, now a division of China’s WH Group. North Carolina contributed an estimated $2.3 billion to the nation’s hog industry in 2015, according to USDA figures.