Hogs can be defined as either of these two:
- a domesticated pig, especially one over 120 pounds (54 kg) and reared for; or
- a large, heavy motorcycle, in particular, a Harley
Recently, both have come under the scrutiny for different legal reasons. You wouldn’t think so, but they did.
Hogs Corporation Being Squeezed for Trade Reasons
Part of the Harley Davidson Investor Relations has included Corporate Governance. It makes good corporate sense, transparency and accountability is what they want for their investors. All of this is tied to profit and branding. Good business sense has also made them consider a recent move of some of its production out of the U.S.A. as part of a strategy to overturn the likelihood of decreased economic profitability. This is since the recent tariffs that the U.S.A. has imposed on steel and aluminum. They have been rather substantial and the production decision came right after it was caught between the new steel and aluminum duties imposed by President Trump. There was no doubt that the domestic prices on Harley Davidson were bound to shoot up. Trading partners within the European Union, have retaliated with tariffs placed on American products. It has been squeezed to move production where the overall costs will be less. The cost of a bike basically added up by more than two thousand
dollars in a public filing. The stock went down by 2%. It is not known for how long the tariff based war will last and executives are looking for ways to reduce impact. A likely question is that with more and more tariffs being raised against the U.S.A., will other companies and their in-house counsel soon be considering cross-border moves as well? All sorts of considerations come into play. More specifically, it involves the re-assessing support several functions including
U.S. distribution, procurement and technology, compliance and international legal affairs. That is why scrutiny by the legal department must have been made prior to any move. All sorts of jurisdictional issues will come into play.
Food Processing of Swine on the grounds of Nuisance
A Chinese owned food processor in North Carolina has been fined $50 million. The award has gone to 10 families and reduced to $3.25 million due to damages being capped. The grounds of nuisance was the basis of the complaint about the smell so bad that it affected their day to day living in ways which even affected sleep. Buzzards, flies and animal carcasses became part of a day to day norm. The way manure is handled clearly needed to be changed with locals suggesting that the swine industry replace all the lagoons and spray fields so that the state’s rural economy grow. Locals became so fed up that complaints of five hundred people and plus were brought forward. In the past, the bringing of lawsuits against meat manufacturers has been difficult. For that reason, this can be seen as an agricultural win. Legislation to limit nuisance cases has been brought forward but not in time to impact this case. It will, however, apply to future cases. The meat processing firm plans to appeal the decision.
https://newfoodeconomy.org/north-carolina-jury-fines-smithfield-foods-50-million-nuisance-lawsu it-hog-farm-manure/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/pork-giant-loses-essential-legal-battle-in-manure-case-1530314322
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