Supreme Court Upholds Judgment for West Union Dairy

The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld a four-point-seven-five million dollar verdict for a northeast Iowa dairy farm. 

The award was for the operators of Vagts Dairy in West Union who sued Northern Natural Gas Company claiming stray electrical current from a pipeline corrosion prevention system made their cows sick. In one year, they lost 17-percent of the cows. 

The gas company appealed, saying jury instructions were in error and the award was too much. 

The Supreme Court ruled the jury instructions on what constitutes a nuisance were proper and the jury’s finding that stray voltage was definitely offensive, seriously annoying, and interfered with the Vagts’ normal use of land supported the dollar award.

story courtesy of Radio Iowa