Source: NEWS & OBSERVER, 2/2/19

Imagine you’re one of the hog farmers on the losing end of a recent nuisance lawsuit over odors coming from your farm. You fulfilled all the requirements of the state’s nuisance odor regulations and believed that if you were causing problems, the state would come to you as provided under those rules. Now you’re on the hook for tens of millions of dollars in punitive and compensatory damages unless the award is reduced or eliminated on appeal. Imagine you’re former Gov. Mike Easley. As state attorney general, you negotiated an agreement with the hog industry in 2000 to fund research at N.C. State University to identify and develop...

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