Environmental Law Blog

The Kansas City Star recently published a memo from lawyers for Smithfield Foods Inc. outlining its options for handling numerous lawsuits alleging that the company's operations are a nuisance here in Missouri.  Apparently, the company inadvertantly sent this frank memo to the newspaper in an e-mail.  The memo to the company's president provides insight into how one large corporation makes decisions in environmental litigation, and can be viewed with the news story by clicking here. 

Under Missouri law, a company has a duty to protect its shareholders from financial loss.  Like all businesses operating in Missouri, it also must ensure that its acts and omissions are not a nuisance for neighbors.  How can citizens protect their property rights and quality of life when dealing with a corporation that must take the bottom line into account?  And how can a corporate citizen satisfy sometimes competing demands imposed by law?  Tell us what you think.