NE Legislature (Apparently) Backing Off Limits On Damage Suits From Hog CAFOs
State legislators appear to have abandoned a drive to restrict court awards potentially available to some 500 Eastern North Carolina residents suing the world’s largest pork producer over farm odors and other alleged nuisances.
Republican members of a Senate committee endorsed a bill Tuesday that would limit compensation in future such cases only to losses in the rental or purchase value of a dwelling. But in step with a House measure passed two weeks ago, the senators amended the bill to apply only to lawsuits filed after the bill passes.
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People dissatisfied with the effects of living near livestock operations could still seek compensation from offending farms under the terms of the bill, Jackson said. He said those terms would apply to lawsuits alleging negligence, trespassing, personal injury and other issues. Sen. Angela Bryant (D-Rocky Mount), an attorney, pointed out that some legal experts, including some Republican House members and a legal expert with the libertarian John Locke Foundation, have urged legislators not to limit court awards in nuisance lawsuits because that would narrow long-standing property rights.
After Bryant asked legislative staff for clarification regarding what would be lost if the bill becomes law, a staff attorney noted that North Carolina case law is slim. That said, nuisance suits nationally have resulted in compensatory payments for medical treatment, loss of wages, repair or replacement of property and emotional distress.
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http://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2017/04/26/legislators-retreat-active-cafo-lawsuit-attack/
