The Associated Press is reporting that today U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizell ruled that the Cherokee Nation could not intervene as a plaintiff in Oklahoma’s lawsuit against 12 poultry companies with operations in the Illinois River watershed. The suit alleges that the application of animal waste on the land where the operations are located polluted the Illinois River watershed and made the water a health threat to Oklahomans. The trial is scheduled to start on Monday.Previously, Judge Frizell denied the ability of the state of Oklahoma to recover any economic damages in the lawsuit because the state failed to name the Cherokee Nation as a plaintiff, which should have happened as the Cherokee Nation is an indispensible party to the lawsuit. The Cherokee Nation’s land in Oklahoma is located within the Illinois River watershed. Still, Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson continued to pursue the case because of the precedential impact it could have on future pollution cases involving animal agriculture operations.
Edmondson did ask Judge Frizell to delay the start of the trial until January, rather than proceed as planned on Monday.
To read the Associated Press release on the ruling click here.
Posted: 09/15/09
