N.C. hog nuisance bill moves to governor’s desk

A controversial measure that would make it more difficult to sue hog producers for allegedly being a nuisance and dragging down neighbors’ property rights has been finalized by the state’s lawmakers, according to media reports. Versions of the bill, Farm Act Senate Bill 711, were approved by the state’s Senate and House earlier this week. On Thursday the Senate approved the House’s proposed changes. The final version of the bill moves to the desk of Gov. Roy Cooper, who could sign it, veto it, or allow it to become state law without his signature. The second of what could be a host of nuisance suits is being heard in federal court now. In April, a jury awarded $50 million to 10 neighbors of a large hog farmer raising the animals for the Murphy-Brown unit of Smithfield; the residents had sued the processor, rather than the farmer himself. The award was later reduced in compliance with an existing North Carolina law that caps damages.