Source: Travis Fain, WRAL, 8/2/18

The lead attorney for hog farm neighbors suing Smithfield Foods over the pig waste near their homes on Thursday asked a jury for $2 million to $4 million per plaintiff in compensatory damages as closing arguments wrapped and the case went to the jury.
The request is significant: Punitive damages in civil lawsuits, which are meant to punish the defendant, are capped in North Carolina, limiting the harm Smithfield suffered in two previous trials, where juries awarded six figures in compensatory damages against the pork giant but tens of millions in punitive awards that largely evaporated due to the cap.

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