CARTHAGE, Mo. (AP) - A judge has ruled that a lawsuit against the owners of a southwest Missouri plant that caused odor complaints will be allowed to proceed.
The lawsuit filed in 2007 by Carthage residents against Renewable Environmental Solutions had been stayed since 2009, when the parent company of RES declared bankruptcy, closed the plant and laid off its employees. The Joplin Globe reported Tuesday that Circuit Judge David Dally lifted a stay last Friday.
The plant, which converted poultry byproducts into fuel oil and fertilizer products, prompted odor complaints for years, leading the city to join the Missouri attorney general's office in a public-nuisance lawsuit. That lawsuit was settled when RES installed odor-control equipment.
A March 2 hearing was scheduled on several motions, including one to certify the lawsuit as a class action.
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Information from: The Joplin Globe, www.joplinglobe.com