ROCKY MOUNT, NC — A lawsuit by 30 Nash and Wilson County residents trying to block construction of a new Sanderson Farms poultry processing plant was derailed by a North Carolina Superior Court judge, according to The Associated Press. Judge Russell Duke Jr. found no evidence that Nash County violated normal zoning practices in approving the site for Sanderson Farms.

Residents who opposed the development charged the 150-acre tract in southern Nash County should not have been rezoned for industrial use specifically to accommodate the plant. Jim Rogerson, the plaintiff's attorney, added the county should have considered other potential uses for the land before offering it as an incentive to Sanderson Farms.


It is unknown if the residents plan to appeal the judge's ruling.