Patterson Harkavy files Petition for Discretionary Review in REACH v. North Carolina

Partnering with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, Patterson Harkavy filed a Petition for Discretionary Review (PDR) this week at the state Supreme Court in REACH v. North Carolina. Patterson Harkavy and Lawyers Committee represent racial and environmental justice groups as well as North Carolinians living near industrial hog operations (IHOs). These Plaintiffs have challenged the legislature's elimination of the nuisance action that has held IHOs responsible for the public health, environmental, and property harms they cause. Plaintiffs' PDR highlights IHOs' efforts to "elude consequences by closing the courthouse doors to their disproportionately Black neighbors who have had the temerity to call them to account using an ancient common law remedy." Read Plaintiffs' PDR here.