Some of the defendants are suing other parties in a complex court case over a chemical tank that ruptured at a Clinton County farm co-op three years ago, killing one man and injuring another. The case stems from the rupture of an anhydrous ammonia tank at the River Valley Co-op in Calamus in 2003. The incident killed 68-year-old Robert Ryan and injured Nathan Nissen, who’s now 27. Ryan’s widow, Nissen, and Nissen’s wife filed a damage suit against SM Services, Heritage Trails Associates, Cenex Harvest States Cooperatives, Agriliance and C-F Industries. The jury was told Cenex, Agriliance and C-F Industries reached a settlement of two and-a-quarter-Million dollars with the families. HJeritage Trails, the company that provided safety training to employees of River Valley, continues to fight the suit. Agriliance and CF Industries have become third-party plaintiffs, seeking compensation from Trinity Industries, the manufacturer of the tank, and have agreed they’ll share with the families anything they win in that effort. Heritage Trails is also a third-party plaintiff but has not settled in the case.
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