U.S. District Judge Gregory K Frizzell ruled that Dr. Robert Taylor could testify as an expert witness for Oklahoma in the upcoming poultry litter litigation case. For the article by Justin Juozapavicius of the Associated Press in the Tulsa World, click here. Dr. Taylor is an agricultural economist from Auburn University who claims the poultry integrators have known for years the environmental impact of chicken litter. According to the article, Dr. Taylor
“claims [the] poultry companies wield almost complete control over their contract growers, and that it was better for their bottom line to dispose of the bird waste in the Illinois River watershed.”Allowing Taylor to testify is seen as a victory for Oklahoma after a string of defeats in pretrial motions.
The poultry companies’ attorneys make no secrets about how the companies operate, but claim Dr. Taylor’s testimony is only meant “to paint us as a black heart.”
The pretrial hearing was tense, and Judge Frizzell was frustrated at times with the parties. He is quoted in the story as saying, “We're going to have to grind through this at trial, and grind through it we will[.]”
The trial is scheduled to begin on September 21, 2009.
For previous posts on the poultry litigation click here to view a post from Aug. 3. Click here, to view post from July 23.
Posted: 08/14/09
