Iowa Supreme Court reverses itself, making it harder to sue hog confinements

cross posted in GD

https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/06/30/iowa-supreme-court-reverses-itself-making-it-harder-to-sue-hog-confinements/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=9b01744e-d65c-4309-bfd2-0427ffaaec69


The Iowa Supreme Court on Thursday made it harder for landowners to sue for damages caused by large-scale animal confinements, saying it “wrongly decided” a 2004 case on Iowa’s right-to-farm law.

In a 4-3 decision, the court concluded that its 2004 ruling on such matters, though reaffirmed in 2018, was incorrect. The majority of justices said Iowa courts should now apply a simplified test in deciding the constitutionality of a law that shields animal confinements from litigation.

The effect of Thursday’s ruling is that it will likely be more difficult for Iowans to sue confined animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, for the negative impact they have on neighboring landowners.

The case at hand involves an Iowa farmer, Gordon Garrison, who had appealed a lower court’s dismissal of his lawsuit against New Fashion Pork and BWT Holdings, owners of a CAFO near his property. In his lawsuit, Garrison sued companies for trespassing, creation of a nuisance and the creation of drainage issues on his land.

Looks like Iowa will be getting even stinkier.

Also looks like “wrongly decided” will become a RW mantra to throw out case law they don't like.