Appellate Court Upholds Judgment for Bible Pork

The 5th District Appellate Court has upheld a Clay County Circuit Court decision ordering Country Mutual Insurance Company to pay $2.5 million, plus interest, to Clay County pork producer Bible Pork.

In a 2-1 decision, the appellate court ruled that Circuit Judge Daniel Hartigan correctly ruled that the insurance company failed to comply with the terms of its own insurance policy when it denied coverage and failed to defend Bible Pork in a lawsuit won by Bible Pork in 2009.

Local attorney Chris Koester, who helped represent Bible Pork, said, "It is an important victory to businesses and individuals who expect their insurance company to stand behind them at a time when they are the most vulnerable."

Bible Pork won a court case in 2009 in which 21 neighbors sought to have a production facility proposed by Bible Pork declared a nuisance, which could have ended plans for the facility. After four years of litigation and a three-week jury trial, a Clay County jury found in favor of Bible Pork. The jury verdict and a separate judgment that the facility did not constitute a public nuisance were upheld by the Appellate Court in an opinion filed in 2011.