Chicken companies want claims separated
ARKANSAS - Several defendant companies want individual trials for lawsuits that allege chicken litter causes cancer and a host of other health problems when spread as fertilizer on farm fields.The suits in Washington County Circuit Court claim poultry companies use chicken feed with high levels of arsenic, copper and zinc as well as fungi and mold spores.
Dust samples from attics, homes and businesses in the area also have high levels of the same things, according to the lawsuit. The samples allegedly have been matched through "fingerprinting" to litter applied on nearby fields, according to the suits.
Taken together, the various lawsuits include about 100 plaintiffs. Alpharma, Alpharma Animal Health, Peterson Farms and Simmons have all asked a judge to sever the various claims and require each plaintiff to proceed to a separate trial.
Source: TheMorningNews
9 November 2005
1 minute read
