date:Jul 11, 2012
Smithfield is seeking to recover $326 million in losses caused by a fire on July 4, 2009, at its Patrick Cudahy Inc. pork processing plant in Cudahy, Wisc.
According to Law360, US District Judge Consuelo Marshall said Smithfield has successfully pled that the government may be held liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act for the actions of US Marine Corps reservist Joshua Popp who started the fire by firing a military-issued flare during a Fourth of July celebration in 2009.
In 2007, Popp was