U of Maryland Clinic Wins Important Procedural Victory in Lawsuit Against Perdue

David Cassuto

A while back, I blogged on the attempt by members of the Maryland legislature to strip funding for the University of Maryland Environmental Law Clinic because of the clinic’s lawsuit (representing numerous plaintiffs) against Perdue and some local chicken producers.  The suit arose from the chicken operation’s  runoff  (allegedly) befouling the Chesapeake Bay.  Perdue spun the suit as an assault against family farming.  Members of the legislature flew into a tizzy and excoriated the clinic for helping its clients pursue their rights under the Clean Water Act.   Thankfully, rational minds prevailed and the threat to kill the clinic’s funding was itself killed. 

Law, Politics, and Maryland

David Cassuto

A word on the dust-up at the University of Maryland.  The environmental law clinic at the University of Maryland School of Law has filed suit against some poultry producers alleging that their operations are fouling local rivers and that the runoff is polluting the Chesapeake Bay.  Defendants include local producers who raise chickens for Perdue as well as Perdue itself.