Ballantyne v. Anaconda Co.

Defendant The Anaconda Company appeals from an order of the District Court, Jefferson County, granting a new trial to plaintiffs George Grant Ballaytyne, George W. Ballantyne, and Evelyn Christensen Peterson, d/b/a Cloverdale Apiaries. For reasons hereinafter set forth we remand this cause to the District Court for further consideration.

Plaintiffs brought this action seeking compensatory and exemplary damages from The Anaconda Company for losses suffered at plaintiffs’ commercial honeybee operation located near Whitehall, Montana. Plaintiffs alleged their bees were poisoned as a result of gas…