SUIT THROWN OUT AGAINST CRANBERRY GROWER
Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 -- 12:03 PM
An appeals court says the state cannot sue a cranberry grower for polluting a lake in northwestern Wisconsin.The District 3 Court of Appeals upheld a judge's dismissal of the state's lawsuit against William Zawistowski.
The state and landowners sued in 2004, contending Zawistowski was dumping phosphorus into Musky Bay. They argued the pollution was causing a nuisance by interfering with the public's ability to use the lake and harming its ecosystem.
But the appeals court says the state failed to prove the pollution caused a significant interference with recreation or the bay's ecology.
The case was originally filed by former Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager and became an issue in her unsuccessful re-election bid in 2006.
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