Those opposed to a proposed new Sanderson Farms chicken processing plant in Nash County, North Carolina returned to court this week. Property owners and the city of Wilson have sued Nash Country over re-zoning of the proposed 150-acre site for the plant. A North Carolina Superior Judge dimissed the city from two lawsuits and ruled in favor of the county on the issue of re-zoning.
Attorneys for the city of Wilson and the local residents on Monday filed two briefs in the North Carolina Court of Appeals. That court must decide whether or not to hold a hearing. Attorneys for the city of Wilson and the local residents also filed a motion in Superior Court for relief from judgement based on new evidence. The new evidence consists of a map of a proposed Sanderson Farms hatchery site filed with the county last December. Sanderson Farms at the time said that it had bought the land necessary to build the hatchery portion of the new facility but that it did not expect to break ground on the project until 2012 at the earliest.