Public Radio for the Piedmont and High Country
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Judge Rules No Punishing Smithfield Foods For Hog Complex

This July 21, 2017, file photo shows young hogs on a North Carolina farm. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)

A federal judge in North Carolina is shutting down a lawsuit against a Smithfield Foods hog feeding operation by some neighbors who complained of odors, flies, and noises. 

U.S. District Judge David Faber declared there wasn't enough evidence for those neighbors to pursue punitive damages.

This comes after jurors in Raleigh determined on Wednesday that eight neighbors of a Smithfield Foods animal feeding operation in Sampson County should be compensated with between $100 and $75,000 each. The neighbors had complained about Sholar Farm, which houses up to 7,000 hogs.

Jurors in three related cases previously decided Smithfield Foods should pay nearly $550 million in penalties, which were reduced under a state law limiting punishment.

Smithfield Foods said it believes the lawsuits are an abuse of the legal system.

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Support quality journalism, like the story above,
with your gift right now.

Donate