The private law firm representing Oklahoma in its pollution suit against poultry companies will not receive any pay in 2010, according to Drew Edmondson, the state’s attorney general.
The Muskogee Phoenix reported that the state’s agreement with the lawyers specifies that they would be paid out of money awarded to Oklahoma by the court or in a settlement with the poultry companies. However, “Any cause of action where the state could recoup a lot of money or the lawyers could get paid a lot have been removed from the case,” Edmondson told the newspaper’s editorial board.
Edmondson estimated that the firm has accumulated $25 million to $30 million of expenses pursuing the case. He added that he hopes the court will grant an injunction against spring application of chicken litter fertilizer, which Oklahoma claims is polluting the Illinois River watershed and leading to low oxygen levels in Lake Tenkiller.
