U.S. District Court Judge Nickerson this week denied a motion by Perdue Farms and the Hudson family to recoup attorneys’ fees following a case brought by local environmental activists under the Clean Water Act. Activists brought the closely-watched suit after spotting water pollution near the Hudson family farm. They attempted to prove it was from the farm’s chicken production, but the judge found in December 2012 that the pollution was not from chickens.
Perdue and the Hudson’s filed motions on the $3 million legal fees in February. A hearing was held in June. “We are extremely disappointed that the judge chose not to require that the Waterkeeper Alliance reimburse the Hudsons and Perdue the $3 million they expended on the lawsuit and hold the Waterkeepers accountable for their irresponsible lawsuit,” said Perdue spokeswoman Julie DeYoung in a statement.
“While is is not the outcome we had hoped for, we can focus Perdue’s energies on positive and proactive environmental activities,” DeYoung said. “We wholeheartedly concur with Judge Nickerson that ‘it is most unfortunate that so much time and so many resources were expended on this action that accomplished so little.'”
SaveFarm Families, which helped to raise funds for the Hudson family, said in a statement that it was “worth noting that the Maryland legislature and Governor O’Malley both agreed that the Hudson Family ought to be relieved of the financial burden they faced for this unjust lawsuit, which is why they approved special language in the budget allowing the family to seek compensation up to $300,000 if the judge decided not to award legal fees.”
