Costs Mount For Lawyers Arguing Okla. Poultry Case

JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — While the meter continues to run on the high-profile attorneys hired for Oklahoma's federal pollution lawsuit against the Arkansas poultry industry, one thing's for certain: taxpayers won't be left holding the bag.

That's because the firms representing the state in the 2005 suit were hired on a contingency-fee basis, so they don't get paid unless the state wins.

It's turned into a huge gamble so far: Oklahoma's lawyers have spent at least $25 million trying to convince a judge that 11 poultry companies are to blame for mucking up a once-pristine watershed with tons and tons of chicken waste.

The state is still laying out its case in Tulsa federal court, and the trial could last several more weeks.

The defendants include Tyson Foods Inc., the world's largest meat producer, a company big enough to hire some of the best attorneys money can buy. Included in that lot is Washington lawyer Thomas C. Green, a barrel-chested intimidating presence, whose career spans the Watergate trial to the Iran-Contra investigation and beyond.