Higbee v. Starr

598 F. Supp. 323, 21 ERC 2215, 21 ERC (BNA) 2215, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21522
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Arkansas
DecidedDecember 4, 1984
Docket82-5072
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 598 F. Supp. 323 (Higbee v. Starr) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Higbee v. Starr, 598 F. Supp. 323, 21 ERC 2215, 21 ERC (BNA) 2215, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21522 (E.D. Ark. 1984).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

HENRY WOODS, District Judge.

Suit was filed on April 27, 1982, by plaintiff Billy Joe Higbee against defendants Joe Fred Starr d/b/a Poultry Growers, Inc. and/or Bi-State Energy, Inc. (hereafter “Starr”); Tyson Foods, Inc.; and George Harmon. Mary Ruth Sallee was later added as a party defendant. Jurisdiction is predicated on 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and 33 U.S.C. § 1365(a), with pendent jurisdiction over related state-law claims. Higbee alleged the following causes of action: 1) Discharge of pollutants into navigable waters of the United States without a permit, in violation of 33 U.S.C. § 1311(a); 2) violation of permit conditions set forth in permits issued by the Arkansas State Department of Pollution Control and Ecology, in violation of 33 U.S.C. § 1342; 3) battery (offensive touching by pollutants); 4) trespass (intrusion by pollutants); 5) negligence; 6) nuisance; 7) intentional infliction of emotional distress; 8) interference with contract; and 9) retaliatory eviction. Civil penalties and injunctive relief were requested.

Higbee’s claims for retaliatory eviction and interference with contract were based upon her allegations that her rental agreement with Sallee was interfered with by some or all of the defendants herein, in retaliation for her having instituted this lawsuit. On March 11, 1982, Sallee sued Higbee for unlawful detainer in Washington County Circuit Court, Civil Action number 82-228. That case was heard on the merits on July 19, 1982, and a final order issued by the Honorable Maupin Cummins in which it was found that Hig *325 bee was in default on rental payments and Sallee was entitled to possession of the property. No appeal was taken by Higbee from that final determination. This Court found that the state court conclusively adjudicated all issues regarding the propriety of Higbee’s eviction from the Sallee property against Higbee, and granted summary judgment in favor of defendants on the claim of retaliatory eviction. At the trial of this matter on September 20, 1984, Higbee put on no evidence directly related to her claims of interference with contract, battery, or intentional infliction of emotional distress. Therefore, this Court finds that those counts were abandoned by Higbee.

The operation which Higbee alleged was causing pollution consists of 10 hog finishing houses with a capacity of 350-400 hogs per house. Young hogs are housed there, and fed out to slaughter weight.. Waste produced by the hogs falls through the slats in the floors of the houses, and is collected in holding basins, each of which will hold approximately 70,000 gallons of wastewater. These basins are periodically pumped out, and the accumulated liquid, known as “honey” or hog litter, is then spread on pastureland for fertilizer. The hog finishing operation is known as the Low Gap Hog Farm.

When the abandoned or previously decided causes of action are extracted from the pleadings, this lawsuit boils down to one issue: whether Starr, Tyson, and Harmon, separately or in concert, operated the Low Gap Hog Farm in such a manner as to violate the provisions of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1251, et seq. The Low Gap Hog Farm is a “concentrated animal feeding operation,” as defined by 40 C.F.R. § 122.23 (App. B). The hog farm is located near the top of a hill, at the base of which is located the property owned by defendant Mary Ruth Sallee. At the time suit was filed, Higbee rented a small house and yard on the Sallee property, where she lived with her three children and a rather large collection of domestic animals. Higbee alleged that substandard practices on the Low Gap Hog Farm were causing pollution of the water sources at her residence, and in navigable waters of the United States. The practices complained of were: 1) construction of the hog houses according to plans and specifications which were not approved by and did not meet the standards of the Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology; 2) negligence in allowing the holding basins which collect hog waste to overflow onto the ground where the waste could be washed away down the hill by rainwater runoff; 3) negligence in spreading the liquid hog waste on pastureland as fertilizer in such a manner that it would be washed away by rainwater runoff; and 4) disposal of dead hogs in “dead pits” without adequate cover or precautions to prevent accumulated water in the pits from percolating or running off down the hill into Higbee’s water sources.

Trial was held on September 20, 1984, and the case was taken under advisement. All parties except Sallee have submitted proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, and the Court has exhaustively reviewed the submissions of the parties and the exhibits of record. The matter being ripe for decision, this Court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Billy Joe Higbee is, and at all times relevant to this lawsuit was, a citizen and resident of Washington County, Arkansas.

2. Joe Fred Starr (Starr) is, and at all times relevant to this action was, a citizen and resident of Washington County, Arkansas.

3. Bi-State Energy, Inc. is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Arkansas; Joe Fred Starr is the president of Bi-State Energy, and at all times relevant to this suit acted as the agent, servant, employee or officer of Bi-State Energy, Inc.

4. At all times relevant to this lawsuit, Bi-State Energy, Inc. owned and leased to Poultry Growers, Inc. the hog finishing houses at Low Gap Hog Farm.

*326 5. Poultry Growers, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tyson Foods, Inc.

6. Tyson Foods, Inc. is, and at all times relevant to this action was, an Arkansas Corporation with its principal place of business in Washington County, Arkansas.

7. George Harmon is, and at all times relevant to this action was, a citizen and resident of Washington County, Arkansas; he is presently an employee of Tyson Foods, Inc., and was, for a portion of the time relevant to this lawsuit, an employee of Bi-State Energy, Inc. Harmon was employed as resident manager of the Low Gap Hog Farm.

8. Defendant Mary Ruth Sallee is a citizen and resident of Washington County, Arkansas. She is the owner of certain real property, more particularly described as:

10 acres situated in the Southwest quarter (SWVk) of Section 17, Township 14 North, Range 29 West, in Washington County, Arkansas.

9. The Sallee property is located approximately two miles northeast of the town of Brentwood, Washington County, Arkansas. It is situated at the base of a hill below the Low Gap Hog Farm.

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Bluebook (online)
598 F. Supp. 323, 21 ERC 2215, 21 ERC (BNA) 2215, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21522, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/higbee-v-starr-ared-1984.