Source: Casey Roman, WECT, 11/12/18

In 2013, China-based WH Group purchased Smithfield Foods. The $4.7 billion merger combined the United States' top pork producer with the world’s biggest pork producing company. According to some members of the agriculture community, the massive price tag made the company a target for lawsuits. Coincidentally or not, 2013 was also the year when out-of-state attorneys Charles Speer and Richard Middleton started pursuing a tort case (civil wrongdoing) against North Carolina hog farms. They partnered with North Carolina firm Wallace and Graham to pursue the case.

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