Missouri Jury Rules Against Farmer in Odor Lawsuit

A DeKalb County jury has ruled against a northwest Missouri farmer who claimed odor from an industrial hog farm had damaged his property.

The jury ruled Wednesday in favor of Premium Standard Farms. Vernon Hanes, a farmer in northwest Missouri, claimed odors from PSF’s hog farm damaged his use of his property. He was seeking $3 million in damages.

Premium Standard lawyer Jean Paul Bradshaw said the company has several other pending lawsuits involving similar claims.

The verdict comes about a month after Gov. Jay Nixon signed into law a measure limiting lawsuits against farms and livestock producers. The measure restricts how much money people could win in those lawsuits. It also seeks to prohibit neighbors from filing repeated nuisance claims arising out of similar conditions against the same farm.