More on Smithfield Suits

March 2, 2001

The Waterkeeper Alliance, a group that includes the Sierra Club, is filing lawsuits against the Virginia-based Smithfield hog operation, claiming the company pollutes waterways and fouls water systems with animal waste. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Jan Schlichtmann, and Charles Speer announced the filing of multiple lawsuits across the United States against Smithfield operations on behalf of the organizations. Smithfield operates plants in North Carolina, Utah, Oklahoma and Missouri, and is the world's largest pork producer.

"These companies have fouled the air and water of rural America, and run family farmers out of the hog-raising business," said Ken Midkiff, Clean Water Campaign Coordinator for the Sierra Club. "Since the government is not protecting our waterways from these polluters, we are forced to step in. Part of the problem is the revolving door between industry and regulatory agencies. When enforcers turn into apologists, justice will not be served."

The lawsuits filed this week include multiple pollution suits as well as common law tort litigation and federal racketeering allegations under the country's organized crime statutes.

As many as 20 more lawsuits could be filed, according to Kennedy. The lawsuits fall in three categories: RICO, federal environmental law and state common and statutory law.

–State Common Law: In addition to a lawsuit already on file in North Carolina, the coalition filed a lawsuit on Feb. 23 on behalf of individuals affected by Smithfield's pollution of the Cape Fear, Neuse, and New River basins. The plaintiffs include commercial fishermen, marina owners, bridge workers and riparian landowners. The suit brings causes of action under North Carolina law for private and public nuisance, trespass, strict liability, negligence, Unfair Trade Practices and, most importantly, asserts a claim pursuant to the Public Trust Doctrine. The Public Trust Doctrine is grounded in the notion that North Carolina's rivers are public resources held in trust for the benefit of all North Carolinians. The Defendants include Smithfield, its subsidiary companies Carroll's Foods and Brown's of Carolina and Wendell Murphy, Sr., Wendell Murphy, Jr., and Joseph Luter, III in their individual capacities. The complaint seeks individual damages and public damages resulting from Defendants' illegal activities. The lawsuit also seeks an injunction against further pollution, punitive damages and remediation of the river systems, which could be in the billions of dollars.

--Federal Environmental Lawsuits: The Water Keeper Alliance filed two lawsuits this week in North Carolina against Smithfield facilities for violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). These suits are brought under federal law pursuant to the citizen suit provisions of the acts. The citizen suit provisions empower citizens (often called private attorneys general) to bring suits to enforce the act's provisions when there has been a failure of the federal and state government to act. The alliance also filed four additional notice of intent to sue letters against Smithfield facilities for violations of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and RCRA. A notice of intent to sue letter was also filed against a Missouri Smithfield facility for violations of CWA, RCRA, CERCLA and the Clean Air Act.

--RICO (theFederal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act): A class-action RICO lawsuit was filed this week in federal court in Tampa, FL. One of the themes of the RICO complaint is that Smithfield's operation is funded by its illegal pollution based profits. Smithfield has pervasively and habitually violated environmental laws and is using the proceeds from these and continuing violations to further their business activities. By violating environmental laws, it is shifting the cost of handling its pollution to the American Public and giving itself an unfair advantage in the marketplace. By funding its growth with pollution based proceeds and profits, Smithfield is also adversely directly affecting the health, quality of life, and economic and property interests of the plaintiffs represented in this national class action. Another major theme of this national class action is that Smithfield has unlawfully failed to disclose its noncompliance with environmental laws that directly affect such material interests of the class action plaintiffs. In 1997, Smithfield was assessed what was then the largest civil penalty in history under the Clean Water Act, $12.6 million. The same violations also resulted in a thirty-month federal prison sentence for one of Smithfield's environmental managers.