Atlanta asks Judge to overturn sludge finding

City asks judge to overturn sludge finding

Web posted Friday, July 25, 2003
By Robert Pavey | Staff Writer

A jury's $550,000 award to a Burke County family who alleged their cattle and land were
poisoned by the city of Augusta's sewage sludge should be set aside, according to the
city's lawyer.

Jim Ellison, who helped defend the city in a
two-week civil trial last month, filed a request in
Superior Court asking Judge Carlisle Overstreet to
reverse the jury's June 24 finding in favor of the
Boyce family.

The city cited several reasons for its request,
including a claim that "there was insufficient
evidence as a matter of law that plaintiffs'
farmlands were damaged due to the application of
sewage sludge."

The c ity's defense team also said the Boyce
family was barred by the statute of limitations from
collecting damages over the sludge applications,
which occurred from 1986 to 1998.

No ruling has been made on that allegation.

The Boyce family had sought $12.5 million in
damages over allegations that sludge - a
byproduct of wastewater treatment applied to
pastures as a free fertilizer - contained heavy
metals that killed cattle.

The city said during the two-week trial that
common bovine diseases and poor farm
management practices by the Boyce family were
responsible for the cattle deaths. Witnesses for
the plaintiffs, however, said the sewage was responsible.

Also this week, the Boyce family - through its legal team headed by Ed Hallman, of Atlanta
- filed a request for a new trial for purposes of recalculating damages.

That request contends "the jury clearly made a mistake about the amount of damages,"
which should have been much greater, based on testimony from witnesses. No hearing
date has been scheduled to discuss either request.

The city also faces a similar lawsuit from another farm that received Augusta's sewage
sludge. R.A. McElmurray & Sons of Hephzibah filed its lawsuit in February 2001, a week
after the Boyceland Dairy lawsuit was filed.

No trial date has been scheduled in that case, but lawyers on both sides have said they
are ready to try the case.