Hog producer reaches settlement with four Sac County couples

Iowa’s largest hog producer and four Sac County couples have reached an out-of-court settlement involving a nuisance lawsuit, and the couples have agreed to give up 32-million dollars a jury had awarded them. Last October, a Sac County jury awarded the couples one million dollars in actual damages and the 32-million punitive damage award. The couples suit against Iowa Select Farms claimed the company’s large swine operation generated odors, noxious gases and excessive flies diminished the value of their property. Following a weeklong trial, a jury deliberated for four hours before returning a verdict. Iowa Select Farms opened a livestock facility in Sac County in 1997 and since then, the plaintiffs claimed, it had become a health risk and nuisance. Both sides have agreed not to released any terms of the settlement except the elimination of punitive damages.