RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jurors in North Carolina are getting a roundup of testimony in a lawsuit filed by neighbors of an industrial-scale swine operation.
The 10 plaintiffs contend that open-air cesspools of hog waste inflict intense, putrid smells on them that can't be removed from clothing or household fabrics.
Lawyers for Virginia-based Smithfield Foods' hog-production division who closed their case Tuesday maintain that the smells, traffic and noise don't hurt the neighbors' ability to enjoy their own property.
The jury has heard three weeks of testimony. This is the first of a series of test cases by more than 500 neighbors against the low-cost, high-volume methods used by the Chinese-owned company.
Lawyers for the neighbors say alternative methods don't cause such a nuisance, but the company uses open-air cesspools because they're cheap.
