Family Impacted by Mountaire Farms Wastewater Violations Speak Out

DOVER, Del. - Mountaire Farms is firing back after a new lawsuit was filed against the company, accusing Mountaire of wastewater violations at its Millsboro area facility.  

On Thursday, a new complaint was filed by the law firms Nidel & Nace and Jacobs & Crumplar. The firms say they represent between 80 to 100 clients. The lawsuit focuses on groundwater nitrate contamination near Mountaire Farms' neighbors in Sussex County. Chris Nidel, one of the attorneys in the new suit, says they are seeking compensation for property damage and odor issues they say are caused by Mountaire. Nidel says his clients are also seeking medical monitoring and a change in Mountaire's wastewater treatment practices.

"What you want is your health and well being, you don't want money, right?," Nidel says. "Unfortunately the only thing we can ask Mountaire for is money."

In a statement to WBOC, Mountaire says the company has not seen the lawsuit yet, but notes it is not unexpected and the company will "vigorously defend our position."

"What we can say is it appears that the tactics by these plaintiffs groups is to grossly exaggerate the contributions from Mountaire regarding nitrate levels across Sussex County," the statement reads. "Historically, elevated levels of nitrates is a very common widespread environmental condition due to decades of agricultural use, way before the arrival of Mountaire and certainly did not occur just in the past 18 years, much less the past eight months."

Nidel says they are seeking a jury trial and that the jury would determine the monetary amount for damages. The new suit also includes a count of wrongful death against Mountaire, claiming the company contributed to a deadly asthma attack. 

The full complaint and Mountaire Farms' response can be read in the PDFs attached below.

 

 

 

 

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