Wisconsin Ag Connection - Farm Groups File Brief in Supreme Court Defending Right to Farm

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Farm Groups File Brief in Supreme Court Defending Right to Farm
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 03/28/2008

A coalition of agricultural groups, led by the Wisconsin Farm Bureau, has filed a brief in opposition to a petition for review of a nuisance lawsuit in the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The case involves a Sawyer County cranberry grower and his out-of-state neighbors.

In February an appeals court unanimously upheld an earlier circuit court ruling in favor of William Zawistowski, a second-generation cranberry grower who operates two separate cranberry bogs that have utilized water from Musky Bay since the 1950s. The non-resident plaintiffs, who own recreational properties on Musky Bay, allege that phosphorus lawfully applied by Zawistowski to his cranberry bogs is the primary source of phosphorus in Musky Bay, and that it has created a nuisance. Since the February ruling, they have filed for an appeal to the state's highest court.

Attorneys for Zawistowski and the Rural Mutual Insurance Company have also submitted briefs asking that the Supreme Court deny further review. Because of the lawsuit's potential ramifications to the state's Right to Farm Law, as well as nuisance lawsuits against lawful farming, Farm Bureau and a coalition of agriculture groups have asked to formally participate in the case in support of Zawistowski.

The brief points out that the petitioners have been unsuccessful in every state and federal proceeding, since the litigation first began in 2002, and now they have failed to advance any bona fide reason justifying review by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

"The timeline for the Supreme Court to make a decision whether to accept or deny the petition for review is not known," said Paul Zimmerman, Farm Bureau's executive director of public affairs. "However, the Wisconsin Farm Bureau remains committed to protecting Wisconsin farmers from nuisance lawsuits and preserving their protection under the Right to Farm Law."

Other agriculture groups that joined in the legal brief include the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives, Wisconsin Cattlemen's Association, Wisconsin Corn Growers Association, Wisconsin Pork Association, Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers' Association, Wisconsin Cranberry Grower's Association and the Dairy Business Association.

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