DALLAS – JBS USA LLC and Swift Pork Co. on March 2 won the dismissal of a complaint filed over JBS Louisville Pork Plant’s use of a parking lot near the processing plant in the Butchertown area of Louisville, Kentucky.
Click here to see news coverage of the lawsuit’s dismissal.
The suit by Butchertown Neighborhood Association Inc. (BNA) and individual area residents was filed in 2006 against Swift and the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government, which leased the parking lot to Swift. The company used the lot as a staging area for trucks awaiting pickup by grocery stores and other buyers of Swift brand processed pork. Neighbors complained about noise and diesel emissions from truck engines, among other issues.
The lawsuit sat mostly dormant until 2013 when the plaintiffs amended their filing to include Swift’s parent company, JBS USA, as a defendant. Around this time, Swift and JBS brought in their longtime litigation counsel Clayton Bailey from the Dallas complex litigation boutique Bailey Brauer PLLC to serve as co-counsel with attorneys Glenn Price and Bart Greenwald from the Louisville office of Frost Brown Todd LLP.
After the plaintiffs amended their petition, JBS USA and Swift filed a motion asking the plaintiffs to substantiate their allegations. JBS and Swift later served written discovery and sought to depose BNA President and Butchertown resident Andrew Cornelius seeking information supporting the plaintiffs’ claims. The plaintiffs responded on Feb. 25 by filing a motion for dismissal. Circuit Court Judge A.C. McKay Chauvin of Louisville approved the motion on March 2, dismissing the case against JBS, Swift and the county with prejudice.
“Clearly, my clients are pleased with this turn of events,” says Mr. Bailey. “And in return for the dismissal, JBS and Swift have agreed not to seek sanctions against the plaintiffs or their lawyer for filing unsupported claims that unnecessarily cost both my clients and the taxpayers of Louisville time, effort and money. It is our hope that we can now pursue a more productive relationship with the BNA and resolve our issues in a more fruitful and less costly manner.”
Bailey Brauer PLLC is committed to providing efficient, effective legal representation in high-stakes litigation. Led by experienced trial and appellate lawyers Clayton Bailey and Alex Brauer, the firm focuses on complex commercial litigation, agribusiness, appeals, and class and collective actions. For more information, please contact Bailey Brauer today.