Perdue Farms has filed a lawsuit against former contract grower Craig Watts and the United States Department of Labor (DOL).
The suit, filed in federal court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, is the latest action in a decade of discontent between Perdue and Watts. Watts in 2015 filed a suit against Perdue, alleging that the company’s decision to audit Watts’ farm and place him under a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) were taken in reprisal for protected activity under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The complaint argues that Perdue’s labeling of the chickens as “humanely raised” was misleading, and that Perdue’s breeding and practices increased the risk that birds would become contaminated with Salmonella and/or develop infections, in turn threatening consumers’ health.
At the time, Perdue described Watts’ suit as a “publicity ploy.” Just months before Watts filed his suit, he worked with Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), and released a video that gave the public a view of what Watts viewed as the “inhumane” conditions of Perdue’s contract farms. In the video, Watts said he felt powerless to change the conditions for his chickens because he was bound by his contract with Perdue.
In the suit filed on behalf of Perdue, challenges the constitutionality of Watts’ case. Over the years, the case was dismissed by an administrative law judge but brought back to life by courtroom fights, reported the Charlotte Observer. The company seeks relief to prevent the DOL from continuing what it considers unconstitutional administrative proceedings against it.
“Perdue is not asking this court to litigate the merits of Watts’ accusations,” the lawsuit reads. “Instead, Perdue brings five constitutional challenges to the administrative proceedings.”
