Morgan HONOMICHL, Robin Honomichl, Timothy Honomichl, Deb Chance, Kara Chance, Karen Jo Frescoln, Mike Merrill, and Q.H. v. VALLEY VIEW SWINE, LLC and JBS Live Pork, LLC.
Morgan HONOMICHL, Robin Honomichl, Timothy Honomichl, Deb Chance, Kara Chance, Karen Jo Frescoln, Mike Merrill, and Q.H. v. VALLEY VIEW SWINE, LLC and JBS Live Pork, LLC.
Opinion
The plaintiffs are the owners and/or residents of real estate located near the confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) owned and operated by the defendants. The plaintiffs have brought suit against the defendants, claiming the defendants are negligent in their operation of the CAFOs. The plaintiffs also contend the CAFOs constitute a nuisance that entitles the plaintiffs to damages for the loss of use and enjoyment of their property due to the odors, pathogens, and flies that allegedly emanate from the CAFOs. The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment on the nuisance claims alleging Iowa Code section 657.11(2) (2016) bars such claims since the plaintiffs cannot meet the requirements necessary under the statute to recover the requested special damages against the CAFOs. Meanwhile, the plaintiffs sought partial summary judgment to strike the defendants' statutory immunity defense under section 657.11(2).
The district court denied the defendants' motion for summary judgment and granted the plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment. In doing so, the district court found section 657.11(2) was unconstitutional *227 as applied to the plaintiffs under article I, section 1 of the Iowa Constitution because it denies plaintiffs access to a remedy for their alleged injuries. The defendants filed an application for interlocutory appeal and stay, arguing the district court erred in granting plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment by finding that section 657.11(2) was unconstitutional as applied to the plaintiffs. We granted the application for interlocutory appeal and stay and retained the appeal.
We now reverse the district court ruling granting the plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment. Specifically, the district court found that section 657.11(2), as applied to the plaintiffs in this case, violated article I, section 1. However, the district court did so without making specific findings of fact relative to any plaintiff. Without this fact-based analysis, we are unable to resolve this issue on this record. We therefore reverse and remand the case to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings.
This case centers around two CAFOs located in Wapello County, Iowa, which are known as Valley View Site 1 (Site 1) and Valley View Site 2 (Site 2). Defendant Valley View Swine, LLC, is a limited liability company organized under the laws of the State of Iowa that has three members: Nicholas Adam, Shawn Adam, and Jeffrey Adam. In 2013, Valley View Swine entered into discussions with defendant JBS Live Pork, LLC, (JBS)-then operating as Cargill Pork-to establish CAFOs at Site 1 and Site 2. JBS is authorized to contract with Iowa swine producers for the care and feeding of JBS-owned swine pursuant to a consent decree filed on January 19, 2006, between the State of Iowa and Cargill Pork, LLC, which transferred its ownership to the company that now goes by JBS Live Pork, LLC.
In April 2013, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued Valley View Swine construction permits to implement CAFOs on Site 1 and Site 2 in accordance with Iowa DNR rules and regulations. These rules and regulations required Valley View Swine to meet certain conditions and requirements both during and following construction. Some of these conditions and requirements included implementing an approved manure management plan and following proper waste management procedures to protect soil and waterways. Construction on these sites was also required to comply with all local, state, and federal requirements applicable to CAFOs. These requirements included the need to maintain the minimum separation distances between the CAFOs and "residence[s] not owned by the owner of the confinement feeding operation" or a commercial enterprise, bona fide religious institution, or an educational institution" under Iowa Code section 459.202.
Valley View Swine complied with the applicable setback distances in constructing the CAFOs. At the time of construction in 2013, the necessary setback distance between the CAFOs and the residences at issue was .36 miles or 1875 feet.
On August 1, 2013, near the completion of the construction, Valley View Swine and JBS entered into hog-feeding agreements for Valley View Swine to raise and care for JBS-owned hogs at Site 1 and Site 2. JBS agreed to pay Valley View Swine $3.3334 for each of the 9920 pig spaces on the combined Site 1 and Site 2. This provides Valley View Swine with annual payments exceeding $396,000. Pursuant to the agreements, Valley View Swine is required to "comply with all local, state, and federal laws, regulations, permits, and orders" pertaining to the agreements. Moreover, Valley View Swine must uphold the JBS Swine Welfare Policy and allow JBS to conduct periodic audits. This includes abiding by the JBS Wean-to-Finish Manual detailing the necessary procedures Valley View Swine must follow for biosecurity, preplacement, pig care and management, feed and water management, health, barn environment, safety, waste management, and maintenance of the CAFOs.
To fulfill these agreements, Valley View Swine contracts with a third-party barn manager, Brandon Warren, who works as an independent contractor to manage the operation of the CAFOs. Since Valley View Swine commenced operation of the CAFOs, the Iowa DNR has not found Valley View Swine to be in violation of any statute or regulation governing its operations. The JBS periodic audits have likewise not found Valley View Swine in violation of any applicable statutes or regulations.
In the same month that the defendants entered into their hog feeding agreements, the Iowa DNR authorized the use of Site 1 and Site 2 to serve as CAFOs, finding they were both constructed in accordance with the Iowa DNR requirements. Site 1 began operation that month, and Site 2 followed suit in September. In November, seventy individuals, including the current plaintiffs, filed a lawsuit against Valley View Swine, the Adams, Cargill Pork (now JBS), Tri-L Farms, Inc., Larry Hickenbottom, Josh Hickenbottom, and Richard Warren. The petition alleged negligence and temporary nuisance based on the odors, pathogens, and flies they alleged stem from the CAFOs, as well as defendants' alleged failure to use prudent management practices to reduce these odors, pathogens, and flies. However, the plaintiffs failed to fulfill the mediation requirement established in Iowa Code section 657.10 before they filed their petition, and the district court dismissed the case on January 2, 2014.
On April 2, sixty-nine plaintiffs, including the current plaintiffs, refiled the suit making the same claims against the same defendants. In September, the district court severed the case into three divisions-classified as Divisions A, B, and C-based upon the various plaintiffs' allegations against the different defendant groups. From those sixty-nine plaintiffs, Deb Chance, Jason Chance, Kara Chance, Karen Jo Frescoln, Robin Honomichl, Timothy Honomichl, Morgan Honomichl, Q.H., C.H., and Mike Merrill were among those placed in Division A, which is the only division at issue in this case. Division A plaintiffs brought their claims against Valley View Swine, the Adams, and Cargill Pork (JBS). The district court joined all of the divisions for discovery purposes.
On September 30, Division A plaintiffs filed an amended petition and jury demand on behalf of all original sixty-nine plaintiffs claiming temporary nuisance, permanent nuisance, and negligence against Division A defendants due to the odors, pathogens, and flies that allegedly emanate from the CAFOs. The Division A defendants filed an answer, which invoked section 657.11(2) as an affirmative defense, alleging the plaintiffs could not meet the requirements *229 under the statute to recover their requested damages. In October, the district court implemented a bellwether procedure, allowing the plaintiffs and defendants to each select two plaintiff households in order for separate bellwether trials to occur in the different divisions. The bellwether plaintiffs include the plaintiffs in this case, as well as C.H. and Mike Merrill.
Since 2013, plaintiffs' counsel have filed numerous nuisance suits against JBS involving large groups of plaintiffs. Plaintiffs' counsel have litigated these suits until shortly before trial, at which time the plaintiffs dismissed them. For example, Division A plaintiffs have filed four versions of their petition, eliminating plaintiffs along the way. C.H. was dismissed without prejudice in August 2015, and Mike Merrill dismissed his claims against the defendants in June 2016.
Similarly, Division C plaintiffs eliminated twenty-six plaintiffs during the course of litigation, which included filing six petitions against Division C defendants prior to trial. Division B plaintiffs dismissed their suit in its entirety in November 2014. Following the dismissal of Division B, the district court consolidated Divisions A and C for discovery and deadline purposes with another group of fifteen plaintiffs suing JBS, among others, for negligence and nuisance in Poweshiek County. The district court ordered the Division C case to be tried first, followed by the Poweshiek County case and the Division A case.
The defendants in all of the divisions filed a motion for summary judgment in their respective cases on October 6, 2015, maintaining section 657.11(2) provided them with statutory immunity against the plaintiffs' claims. On the same day, the plaintiffs in all of the divisions filed a motion for partial summary judgment in their respective cases, asking the court to strike the defendants' statutory immunity defense under section 657.11(2) by requesting the district court declare the statute unconstitutional as applied to them. The district court subsequently denied Division C defendants' summary dismissal of the temporary nuisance claims and granted Division C plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment on the statutory immunity defense, finding section 657.11(2) was unconstitutional as applied under the inalienable rights clause of article I, section 1 of the Iowa Constitution. The district court granted Division C defendants summary dismissal of all permanent nuisance claims.
The Division C trial took place in February 2016, and the jury returned defense verdicts that found no nuisance on the properties of any of the plaintiffs. JBS subsequently filed a motion for costs and expenses, alleging three of the Division C plaintiffs filed frivolous claims under section 657.11(5). The district court held JBS raised a valid defense under section 657.11 that rendered the three plaintiffs' claims frivolous within the meaning of the statute. Therefore, the district court found each of the three plaintiffs was liable for his or her portion of the costs that JBS incurred while defending against the frivolous claims.
In June 2016, the district court ruled on the summary judgment motions at issue in this case surrounding Division A. The district court denied Division A defendants' summary dismissal of the claims and granted Division A plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment, declaring section 657.11(2) is unconstitutional as applied to Division A plaintiffs under the inalienable rights clause of the Iowa Constitution. The district court granted summary dismissal of all permanent nuisance claims.
In its ruling, the district court noted the statutory immunity established in section 657.11"unduly burdens the plaintiffs by *230 denying them access to a lawful remedy for their alleged injuries to the person and/or to property occasioned in [the] use of their real-estate interests." Consequently, the district court denied defendants "summary dismissal of the plaintiffs' claims on the basis of the immunity in the first sentence of section 657.11(2)." Further, the ruling stated,
There are no material facts in good-faith dispute that demonstrate that the plaintiffs suffer a disqualification from remedy under a premise that they, as individuals, benefit from the immunity statute greater than those in the general public who benefit from the immunity protection of Iowa Code section 657.11(2). JBS's Motion seeking summary dismissal of all claims for a disqualification from remedy, drawn from analysis of the economic impact of the Iowa pork industry, is denied.
On June 13, the defendants applied for interlocutory appeal and stay, which we granted and retained. On appeal, the defendants argue the district court erred in granting plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment by finding Iowa Code section 657.11(2) (2016) unconstitutional under the inalienable rights clause of article I, section 1 of the Iowa Constitution as applied to the facts of this case. In support of this claim, the defendants allege the district court improperly applied our previous holding in
Gacke v. Pork Xtra, L.L.C.
,
II. Standard of Review.
"We review a district court ruling granting a motion for summary judgment for correction of errors at law."
Estate of Gray ex rel. Gray v. Baldi
,
We review constitutional challenges to statutes de novo.
Hensler v. City of Davenport
,
III. Analysis.
A. Preliminary Concepts: Facial Challenge Versus As-Applied Challenge.
A facial challenge is different from an as-applied challenge.
See
Alex Kreit,
Making Sense of Facial and As-Applied Challenges
,
A facial challenge is one in which no application of the statute could be constitutional under any set of facts.
See
Wash. State Grange v. Wash. State Republican Party
,
We examine two cases to illustrate the difference between facial and as-applied challenges. In
Gravert v. Nebergall
, the landowners alleged Iowa's partition fence statute violated the inalienable rights clause of article I, section 1 of the Iowa Constitution.
We then observed whether the statute was constitutional as applied to the landowners.
In
City of Sioux City v. Jacobsma
, a vehicle owner alleged the city's automated traffic enforcement (ATE) ordinance violated
*232
article I, section 1.
We first stated the ordinance to control speeding on state highways implicated a public interest.
We declined to consider a facial challenge to the ATE ordinance.
We now turn to the relevant statutory provisions relating to right-to-farm laws generally, and the proper analysis to apply to our law that is at issue here.
B. Right-to-Farm Laws in the United States. All fifty states have right-to-farm laws that provide farmers with various forms of statutory immunity from nuisance claims similar to section 657.11(2). Forty-four of these state statutes have not faced constitutional challenges. 1 Six states have *233 faced constitutional challenges to their right-to-farm laws, but Iowa is the only state to hold that the statutory immunity available under its right-to-farm law is unconstitutional in any manner. 2
C. Iowa Code Section 657.11(2) Jurisprudence and the
Gacke
Test.
Chapter 657.11 strives "to protect and preserve animal agricultural production operations."
2. An animal feeding operation, as defined in section 459.102, shall not be found to be a public or private nuisance under this chapter or under principles of common law, and the animal feeding operation shall not be found to interfere with another person's comfortable use and enjoyment of the person's life or property under any other cause of action. However, this section shall not apply *234 if the person bringing the action proves that an injury to the person or damage to the person's property is proximately caused by either of the following:
a . The failure to comply with a federal statute or regulation or a state statute or rule which applies to the animal feeding operation.
b . Both of the following:
(1) The animal feeding operation unreasonably and for substantial periods of time interferes with the person's comfortable use and enjoyment of the person's life or property.
(2) The animal feeding operation failed to use existing prudent generally accepted management practices reasonable for the operation.
We examined the constitutionality of section 657.11(2) in
Gacke
, where homeowners filed a nuisance suit against neighboring CAFOs where they claimed the statutory immunity established in section 657.11(2) was unconstitutional under the takings clause and the inalienable rights clause of the Iowa Constitution.
Gacke
,
Our holding that section 657.11(2) was unconstitutional under the inalienable rights clause as applied in
Gacke
was primarily based on three facts present in that case. First, the plaintiffs "receive[d] no particular benefit from the nuisance immunity granted to [the CAFOs] other than that inuring to the public in general."
Under these circumstances, "one property owner-the producer-[was] given the right to use his property
without
due regard for the personal and property rights of his neighbor," rendering the statutory immunity of section 657.11(2) unconstitutional as applied to the plaintiffs.
D. The Constitutionality of Iowa Code Section 657.11(2) as Applied
*235
to These Plaintiffs.
The inalienable rights clause states, "All men and women are, by nature, free and equal, and have certain inalienable rights-among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness." Iowa Const. art. I, § 1. This provision protects "pre-existing common law" property rights from "arbitrary restrictions."
May's Drug Stores v. State Tax Comm'n
,
To justify the state in thus interposing its authority in behalf of the public, it must appear, first, that the interests of the public generally, as distinguished from those of a particular class, require such interference; and, second, that the means are reasonably necessary for the accomplishment of the purpose, and not unduly oppressive upon individuals.
In applying the first step in
Gacke
, we held that section 657.11(2) was a valid exercise of the state police power although individual producers, not the public, were the direct beneficiaries of the statutory immunity.
Gacke
,
The second step involves the three-prong test espoused in
Gacke
. For courts to determine whether section 657.11(2) is unconstitutional as applied to plaintiffs, plaintiffs must show they (1) "receive[d] no particular benefit from the nuisance immunity granted to their neighbors other than that inuring to the public in general[,]" (2) "sustain[ed] significant hardship[,]" and (3) "resided on their property long before any animal operation was commenced" on neighboring land and "had spent considerable sums of money in improvements to their property prior to construction of the defendant's facilities."
Gacke
,
Following Gacke , courts throughout the state have fashioned the three factors we considered in our as-applied analysis in Gacke into a three-prong test. Consequently, courts have been applying this three-prong test to determine the constitutionality of section 657.11(2) as applied to other plaintiffs bringing similar suits without analyzing other facts or changes to the regulatory scheme governing CAFOs since Gacke . The defendants urge us to reconsider the validity of Gacke in light of the changes to the regulatory scheme governing CAFOs since Gacke . Additionally, the defendants maintain the district court improperly applied the factors set forth in Gacke to this case without making specific factual findings in its ruling that section 657.11(2) is unconstitutional as applied under the inalienable rights clause of the Iowa Constitution. The defendants claim the proper approach to resolving nuisance claims under section 657.11(2) is to require the "district court considering a nuisance claim to evaluate only whether a plaintiff can establish an exception to the statute under the negligence standard of subsection 657.11(2)."
The defendants' request for us to reexamine the validity of
Gacke
requires us to consider our adherence to stare decisis. "[T]he principle of stare decisis demands that we respect prior precedent and that we do not overturn them merely because we might have come to a different conclusion."
State v. Bruce
,
The legal landscape governing CAFOs has changed since we decided
Gacke
. In
Gacke
, the plaintiffs lived approximately 1300 feet, or one-quarter mile, away from the CAFOs.
*237
Moreover, the legislature has since enacted more requirements governing the construction of CAFOs including a manure management plan.
See
Despite these significant statutory and regulatory changes, the analytical framework set forth by the Gacke factors, even with its limitations, are still compatible with present conditions. Changes in the regulatory scheme limiting CAFOs would appear to benefit the adjacent landowners, at least in theory. But the fighting issue remains whether section 657.11(2), as applied to the particular facts of the instant case, is constitutional. Neither party has suggested an alternative legal framework to utilize in such cases, and the court is unable to discern a satisfactory alternative standard to apply. Accordingly, district courts presiding over cases of this nature should apply the Gacke factors to analyze an as-applied constitutional challenge.
The defendants argue that the practical effect of applying the factors we promulgated in
Gacke
has been to boil down the determination of the constitutionality of section 657.11(2) as applied to the plaintiffs to one question: whether the plaintiffs have sustained a significant hardship due to their proximity to the CAFOs.
See
Gacke
,
Additionally, we agree with the defendants that the district court improperly applied the
Gacke
test to this case without making specific factual findings in its ruling that section 657.11(2) is unconstitutional as applied under the inalienable rights clause of the Iowa Constitution. Whether the statutory immunity established in section 657.11(2) is unconstitutional as applied to the plaintiffs is inherently fact-specific. In order for a court to determine whether section 657.11(2) is unconstitutional as applied, plaintiffs must show they (1) "received no particular benefit from the nuisance immunity granted to their neighbors other than that inuring to the public in general[,]" (2) "sustain[ed] significant hardship[,]" and (3) "resided on their property long before any animal operation was commenced" on neighboring land and "had spent considerable sums of money in improvements to their property prior to construction of the defendant's facilities."
Here, each of the parties presented genuine issues of material fact at the summary judgment stage that could lend themselves to a jury verdict for the nonmoving party. As we have previously held, "[s]ummary judgment is appropriate if the only conflict concerns the legal consequences of undisputed facts."
*238
Plowman
,
Our holding in
Dalarna Farms v. Access Energy Coop.
,
Although it is possible that an as-applied constitutional challenge to section 657.11(2) could be resolved in pretrial litigation, the proper course of action for parties disputing the applicability of section 657.11(2) is to allow the CAFOs to plead section 657.11(2) as an affirmative defense to the claims, if applicable. Correspondingly, the plaintiffs claiming section 657.11(2) is unconstitutional as applied to them must prove the factors set forth in Gacke . After the parties have submitted their proof, the court can then determine the constitutionality of section 657.11(2) as applied to particular plaintiffs. While a district court may conduct a pretrial hearing for the specific purpose of determining the as-applied challenge, the plaintiffs can still rely on the exceptions to the immunity under sections 657.11(2)( a ) and ( b ) if the district court finds the statute is not unconstitutional as applied.
Unlike summarily dismissing such claims through summary judgment, a pretrial hearing, or an appropriate motion after the submission of all the evidence at trial, allows the district court to properly balance the
Gacke
factors with the legislative purpose of the statute to protect and promote animal agriculture in the state.
See
E. The Facial Constitutional Challenge to Iowa Code Section 657.11(2).
In addition to their as-applied challenge to section 657.11(2), the plaintiffs claim section 657.11(2) is facially unconstitutional, arguing that the police power does not include "protecting large-scale agricultural interests that have themselves been commonly characterized as a public nuisance or risk." A party who claims a statute is facially unconstitutional "asserts that the statute is void for every purpose and cannot be constitutionally applied to any set of facts."
War Eagle Vill. Apartments
,
IV. Conclusion.
For the aforementioned reasons, we reverse the district court ruling declaring that Iowa Code section 657.11(2) is unconstitutional as applied to the plaintiffs in this case. We remand the case to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. On remand, the district court must engage in a fact-based *239 analysis by applying the three-prong test set forth in Gacke.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
All justices concur except Waterman and Mansfield, JJ., who concur specially.
WATERMAN, Justice (concurring specially).
I join most of the court's opinion reversing the district court ruling that erroneously concluded Iowa Code section 657.11(2) (2016) is unconstitutional as applied to these plaintiffs. Questions of fact on this record preclude summary judgment for either side on the statutory defense. I write separately because
Gacke v. Pork Xtra, L.L.C.
,
First, a decade after
Gacke
, we unanimously held that the deferential rational-basis test is to be applied for challenges under the inalienable rights clause.
City of Sioux City v. Jacobsma
,
Second,
Gacke
limited its holding to the specific facts of that case and emphasized that "[w]e express no opinion as to whether [ section 657.11(2) ] might be constitutionally applied under other circumstances."
Gacke
,
Third, Gacke was wrongly decided. CAFOs may be controversial, but it is not our court's role to second-guess policy choices of the elected branches of government. This appeal does not involve a "takings" claim. It does not present a limit on a landowner's right to recover damages for diminution in value due to a nuisance. The sole issue presented is whether the legislature, subject to the rational-basis test, can pass a law that affects a landowner's ability to recover noneconomic nuisance damages. All other states have passed such right-to-farm laws, and no other state supreme court has held them even partially unconstitutional. To the contrary, other courts have uniformly rejected constitutional challenges to these statutes. Gacke stands alone. I would accept the defendants'
*240 invitation to revisit Gacke and overrule it.
The inalienable rights clause should be read together with the clause that immediately follows it in the Bill of Rights. According to article I, section 2,
All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for the protection, security, and benefit of the people, and they have the right, at all times, to alter or reform the same, whenever the public good may require it.
Iowa Const. art. I, § 2. Thirteen years after our constitution was ratified, our court discussed this clause and noted the people "have vested the legislative authority, inherent in them, in the general assembly."
Stewart v. Bd. of Supervisors
,
[I]t seems clear by logical deduction, and upon the most abundant authority, that this court has no authority to annul an act of the legislature unless it is found to be in clear, palpable and direct conflict with the written constitution.
We need to be cognizant of the right of Iowans to govern themselves through laws passed by their chosen representatives, a right recognized explicitly in article I, section 2. Gacke failed to consider this provision.
For these reasons, I am unable to fully join the majority opinion.
Mansfield, J., joins this special concurrence.
See
See
Lindsey v. DeGroot
,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Morgan Honomichl and Iowa Association for Justice, Amicus Curiae v. Valley View Swine, LLC and JBS Live Pork, LLC and Iowa Pork Producers Association and Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Amici Curiae.
- Cited By
- 30 cases
- Status
- Published