020706 Lawsuit Dismissed Against Smithfield

Tampa, FL - A judge dismissed a federal class-action lawsuit against the nation's largest hog producer, ordering the plaintiffs' attorneys, including Robert Kennedy Jr., to pay the company's legal expenses.

Some 35 groups opposed to corporate farms and representing environmentalists, ranchers, family farmers and animal rights groups initiated the suit against Smithfield Foods Inc. in February 2001. They accused the Virginia-based company of deliberately ignoring environmental regulations and profiting in the process.

They sought a court judgment forcing Smithfield to comply with the law and to obtain an unspecified award because of damages they contend were sustained to their businesses and property as a result of Smithfield's operation.

But in last week's ruling, Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich rejected those arguments and granted Smithfield's motions to dismiss the case, saying the plaintiffs did not succeed in establishing how the company's actions damaged their property.

The judge also said the plaintiffs' attorneys filed "frivolous motions," and ordered the dozen or so law firms representing the plaintiffs, including Kennedy's, to pay Smithfield's legal costs.

"We knew that this was a frivolous suit from the outset and fully anticipated (this) outcome," Richard J. M. Poulson, Smithfield Foods' executive vice president, said in a statement Tuesday.

William Allcott, a Smithfield spokesman in Richmond, Va., said the company is still calculating its court costs and lawyers' fees and declined to speculate on a total cost.

The judge ordered each side to reach an agreement on the appropriate amount within 30 days.

Kennedy, who is leading a campaign against corporate farming companies he says are skirting environmental protection rules, compared the impact of the court's decision to losing a skirmish in a war.

"We think we made a good claim. The judge disagreed with us, and that happens, too," Kennedy told said. "It will not affect our campaign to try to civilize this industry, which is doing so much damage to our country right now."

He said the suit, which alleged Smithfield broke federal racketeering laws, was an attempt to reform the entire industry with one case. Kennedy is the son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy.

Herb Schwartz, an attorney with the Houston-based law firm of Williams, Williams and Bailey, one of the firms representing the class, said Tuesday that the legal team would appeal Kovachevich's ruling and her decision to sanction the plaintiffs' lawyers.

He declined to give an exact number for how many people were party to the lawsuit, but estimated that there were thousands. He said he could not give an estimate for how much in damages the legal team was seeking, and did not want to speculate how much money he and the other attorneys might have to pay Smithfield.

Two federal lawsuits filed by two unrelated individuals who allege Smithfield violated environmental laws are pending in North Carolina. They're due to go to trial in 2003, said Daniel Estrin, attorney with Kennedy and Madonna LLP, in White Plains, N.Y.

Estrin said the outcome of the Florida case should not affect the cases in North Carolina.

"Those cases are alive and well," he said.

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