On Tuesday, August 4, 2009, the twelve poultry companies being sued by the state of Oklahoma for allegedly polluting the Illinois River watershed filed a motion in federal court in Tulsa, OK to prevent a statement made by a member of their own legal team from being used as evidence against them in their trial.The Associated Press’s Justin Juozapavicius story on the motion, which can be found at Newsday.com by clicking here, reports that defense attorney Patrick Ryan made the following statement during a 2008 preliminary hearing, '“there has been an over-application of litter on some or many farms. That's not an issue in our book."' The legal defense team for the poultry companies argues that the statement was taken out of context, has no relevant evidentiary value, and the potential danger that the statement could cause unfair prejudice, confusion, or delay to trial outweighs its value as evidence.
Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson, who brought the suit against the companies, disagrees with the companies’ assessment. Edmondson argues the statement shows that the litter was being applied on farms in violation of the law. It is Edmondson’s contention that 345,000 tons of poultry waste makes its way into the Illinois River watershed each year, and that this represents a health threat to the citizens of Oklahoma.
In other recent court action in this case, a federal judge has ruled Oklahoma cannot recover the damages it seeks against the companies because the state failed to name the Cherokee Nation, an indispensible party to the lawsuit, as a plaintiff. To read the blog post on that ruling click here.
The Illinois River watershed, which spans 1 million acres, is shared by both Arkansas and Oklahoma. The watershed has more than 1,800 poultry houses, and the poultry industry in the area employs roughly 55,000 citizens of Oklahoma and Arkansas. The case has stirred national interest because of the potential precedential impact it could have on this area of agricultural and environmental law. The trial start date is set for September 21, 2009.
UPDATED: For a recent profile by the Associated Press's Justin Juozapavicius on newsok.com on Attorney General Edmondson and the poultry litter litigation, click here. For a previous profile by the Associated Press on the impact on the poultry growers in the Illinois River Watershed, click here.
UPDATED: For an Associated Press article on a tense pre-trial hearing over expert witness testimony, click here.
Posted: 08/05/09
UPDATED: 08/13/09
