Jury Finds Premium Standard Farms Did Not Cause Nuisance

PRINCETON, Mo., June 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A jury in DeKalb County, Missouri today returned a verdict in favor of Premium Standard Farms (PSF) in a case in which the plaintiff alleged that odor from a PSF farm in Daviess County had created a nuisance that damaged his use and enjoyment of his farm.  The case is the latest in a series of cases filed by out-of-state lawyers alleging nuisance against PSF and the second time in the last three trials that a jury has found that PSF did not create a nuisance.

"We are very pleased that the jury found that PSF's Scott-Colby Farm did not create a nuisance over the eleven and half years covered in this lawsuit," said Bill Homann, President of PSF. "This was our first opportunity to present our story to a jury from a rural area, where residents understand how food is raised and the kinds of odors that are experienced in everyday agriculture."

Since 2007, two juries have now found that PSF's farm operations do not constitute a nuisance. This demonstrates that PSF's substantial efforts to address odor – involving the expenditure of $33.5 million to date – have been successful. A recent University of Missouri study found that PSF and its related company, Kansas City-based Farmland Foods, Inc., provide an economic benefit in excess of $1 billion to the state's economy.

"We will continue to work very hard to maintain and enhance our positive impact on the state's economic well-being, which includes providing over 1,000 direct jobs and helping create 5,000 good jobs that support Missouri farm families," Homann said.

The case decided today was filed by Vernon Hanes, a Daviess County resident.  It was tried in DeKalb County on a change of venue requested by plaintiffs.  The Honorable Jon Beetem from Cole County presided over the trial, which lasted two and half weeks.  The jury took about one and a half hours to return the defense verdict.  In 2007, a Jackson County jury returned a defense verdict in a case alleging nuisance with respect to PSF's Homan Farm in Gentry County.

SOURCE Premium Standard Farms