No settlement in Maryland poultry pollution case

Lawyers have not yet reached a settlement in apoultry pollution case filed by a University of Maryland environmental law clinic against Hudson Farm andPerdue Farms Inc., according to a Perdue spokeswoman.

Case attorneys met on March 28 in Baltimore's U.S. District Court for a closed-door settlement conference. The plaintiffs represented by the clinic claim the two companies are polluting a nearby waterway. Farm groups say the suit could bankrupt Hudson Farm and set a bad precedent for other family farms. A settlement has still not been ruled out, according to the Perdue spokeswoman.