A judge appointed to the bench during the Jimmy Carter administration went too far when he silenced practically everyone involved in nuisance lawsuits involving hog farms, an appeals court has ruled.

Judge Earl Britt oversaw all three cases that have gone to trial and issued the order for all parties involved and “all potential witnesses.” This includes those three cases and 23 more scheduled for trial, the next of which is on the docket Nov. 13.

The ruling came this week from the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, and was sought by farm and journalism groups. The appeals court said judges overseeing lawsuits in the Carolinas, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia can issue such orders only as a last resort.

Thus far, juries have awarded $549.25 million in damages, though the amounts were capped by North Carolina law on punitive damages at $97.88 million. All three cases are under appeal. Sources of the Bladen Journal familiar with the situation but unauthorized to speak on it publicly have said the appeals will all be resolved before the next case begins.

Settlement talks are ongoing between the sides, sources say.

Britt was removed from the next case and at least one other in August, before the last verdict came in and before any of the appeals began. The change was made by Chief Judge Roger Gregory of the appeals court. Britt is semi-retired, and it is unknown if or when he would return.

It is unclear why Britt, who practiced law in Fairmont and Lumberton before being appointed to the bench in 1977, was replaced. Patricia Connor, the court clerk, told The Associated Press that Gregory acted “at the request of the district to assist with its caseload.” Now in his mid-80s, Britt was expected to preside over all 26 cases.

Justice David Faber of West Virginia is scheduled to preside in the next case, which involves Sholar Farms of Sampson County. Faber will also have the sixth trial; the justice for the fifth trial is not known.

The verdicts reached so far have all favored plaintiffs represented by Texas lawyer Michael Kaeske. Murphy-Brown, a subsidiary of Smithfield and its Chinese conglomerate parent WH Group, was the defendant in cases involving Kinlaw Farms of the White Oak community, the Joey Carter Farm in Beaulaville, and Pender County farms involving Elizabethtown-based HD3 Farms of the Carolinas’ subsidiary Greenwood Livestock LLC.

Hog farming provides 46,000 jobs and is an $11 billion industry in the state.

North Carolina is the country’s second-leading pork producing state behind Iowa. Supporters of farmers and the industry have denounced several of Britt’s decisions, including not allowing jurors to visit hog farms in question.

Kaeske, owner of a law firm in Austin, Texas, is a former member of the Dallas law firm suing Chemours, the chemical plant at the Bladen-Cumberland county line that produces the GenX compound.

McGuireWoods represents Murphy-Brown. The firm has headquarters in Virginia, an office in Raleigh and internationally in Beijing and Brussels.

Contributed photo
A federal appeals court ruled this week that a gag order imposed by Judge Earl Britt for all cases involving hog farm nuisance lawsuits went too far.
https://www.bladenjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_hogfarmsHD3bullrun.jpgContributed photo
A federal appeals court ruled this week that a gag order imposed by Judge Earl Britt for all cases involving hog farm nuisance lawsuits went too far.

Alan Wooten

Bladen Journal

Alan Wooten can be reached at 910-247-9132 or awooten@bladenjournal.com. Twitter: @alanwooten19.