
WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge in Baltimore has ruled in favor of a chicken farmer in a pollution lawsuit that had broad implications for the state's poultry industry.
U.S. District Judge William Nickerson sided Thursday with Alan Hudson, who raises chickens for poultry giant Perdue.
He said a New York-based environmental group that sued Hudson failed to prove that Hudson's chicken-raising operation on his farm in Berlin polluted a nearby river.
Perdue spokeswoman Julie DeYoung said the company was pleased with the ruling, calling it a "good day for Maryland and for agriculture."
The executive director of Waterkeeper Alliance, the group that sued, said it was disappointed by Nickerson's ruling and was considering an appeal.
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