Stray Voltage Lawsuit Could Help Other Farmers, Ranchers
A Pierce City dairy farmer and his parents have been awarded more than $2 million in a lawsuit brought against New-Mac Electric Cooperative in Newton County Circuit Court.
In a 10-2 decision after four hours of deliberation, the jury found the electric cooperative responsible for $1,675,349 in economic damages and $418,837 for inconvenience caused by stray voltage that killed and sickened cattle on the Chapman Dairy in eastern Newton County.
“It was clear we were right and they were wrong,” said dairy owner Steve Chapman on Monday.
Chapman and his parents, Pat and Judy Chapman, began discussing the stray-voltage issue with New-Mac officials in 1997 before filing the lawsuit in 2000.
In 2005, the Chapmans offered to pay $107,000 for 1.7 miles of new three-phase electric wires to their farm if the cooperative would install it. The cooperative declined.
In June, the cooperative rejected a settlement offer of $2 million.
Under Missouri law, the Chapman Dairy was able to claim financial losses to 1990, or 10 years before filing the lawsuit. The Chapmans sought about $3.2 million.
“We are, of course, very disappointed with the verdict,” said Mark Rakes, manager of consumer services and marketing at the cooperative’s Neosho headquarters. “We believe the evidence showed New-Mac was not responsible.”
Rakes said he could not comment on whether the cooperative would seek an appeal.
The Chapmans’ attorney, Scott Lawrence, of St. Nazianz, Wis., who has represented about 50 cattlemen in stray-voltage cases over the past 20 years, said the Chapmans’ case “went very well.”
“Clearly the jury believed our expert witnesses over theirs,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence said the Chapman Dairy settlement is among the larger awards in such cases, and the first winning verdict in Missouri. Other cases have been filed in Missouri, but were thrown out for lack of evidence before trial, he said.
Attorney Michael Reihn, of Cassville, who served as co-counsel in the case, said stray-voltage cases in the northern Midwest have been successfully tried for 20 years.
“It is finally starting to filter this way,” Reihn said.
Chapman said many dairies cannot hold out long enough to go to trail against large utility companies. Pat Chapman’s railroad pension allowed the dairy to keep going, he said.
“If we were just depending on the dairy for income, this trial wouldn’t have happened,” Chapman said. “New-Mac just kept hoping we wouldn’t pursue it or that we would go broke.”
Since 1997, the Chapman dairy has lost 100 Holstein cattle of all ages, which were attributed to stray voltage that entered the soil through copper ground wires, shocking the cattle.
The cattle suffered from a host of illnesses including chronic mastitis, bleeding ulcers and crippling joint ailments. Inability to breed and low milk production were also common, Chapman said.
“When the cattle were moved to another farm, those conditions disappeared,” Chapman said.
The Chapmans proved that poorly maintained, single-phase overhead electric lines, overgrown with vines and tree branches, were to blame. Instead of flowing through the lines, current would travel down the copper ground wires on each pole and into the ground, Chapman said.
Chapman said that besides sick cattle, the dairy also had increased labor costs because cows refuse to go in the milk barn. Once there, they kick the milkers off or won’t let their milk down, Chapman said.
“Milking takes twice as long as it should and takes at least two workers to milk the cows,” Chapman said.
Chapman said the last 10 years have been exhausting, first to figure out what the problem was, and then how to fix it.
“Most people don’t believe you when you tell them about it, or they don’t even understand what you are talking about,” Chapman said, adding that most of his expert witnesses are from dairy areas of Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota.
“We had to sacrifice everything else to keep this going,” Chapman said. “We couldn’t live a normal life.”
Chapman said the award covers losses suffered because of cattle death and illness, and debt incurred during the long legal battle, but has established nothing to prevent future losses if the problem isn’t corrected.
Chapman said he will return to court with the cooperative on Dec. 5 to determine how to correct the problem permanently.
“Hopefully, we’ll get our power lines rebuilt,” Chapman said. “Otherwise we will have future losses.”
Chapman said he recently lost another young cow when her stomach ruptured from bleeding ulcers. Lawrence said he will ask the judge in December to order the cooperative to install 1.75 miles of new power lines, including hardware, leading to the Chapman dairy.
“I’m assuming New-Mac will ask the judge to throw out part of the damages award,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence said that if the cooperative had replaced the hardware with modern equipment, the stray voltage would never have developed. The power lines near the dairy date to 1947, he said.
Chapman said that over the last few years he has invested in enough stray-voltage testing equipment that he could be a consultant for other dairies.
“I hope this case helps other farmers,” Chapman said.
Largest award
In February 2004, an Idaho jury awarded $17.5 million to a dairy that claimed electrical current from power lines harmed its cows. That was a record judgment in a stray-voltage case.
Jurors in Twin Falls ordered the damages after finding that antiquated Idaho Power transmission equipment was at fault for making cows sick and reducing their milk production at a dairy owned by Mike and Susan Vierstra.
Idaho Power argued during the 10-week trial that the stray-voltage levels were not dangerous and that the cows’ problems were the result of poor dairy management.