The order gives the district court the first opportunity to consider the agreement signed by all parties.
OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal appeals court has put a judgment against six poultry companies on hold while a Tulsa federal judge considers whether to set it aside under a nearly $44 million settlement.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the order Monday at the joint request of Oklahoma and the poultry companies. The court returned that question to the district court because the judge has not considered the settlement signed by all parties.
The appeals court did not vacate the December 2025 judgment. It denied that request for now, allowing the parties to raise it again after the district court acts, and stayed the judgment until further notice.
The case has also spilled into the Republican runoff for governor. Mike Mazzei has blamed Attorney General Gentner Drummond for not ending the litigation sooner, although it remained pending under four previous attorneys general before Drummond took office in 2023. Drummond has presented the settlement as a balance between protecting water quality and providing certainty for Oklahoma agriculture.
The settlement would end Oklahoma’s 21-year lawsuit over poultry litter pollution in the Illinois River Watershed. It provides nearly $44 million for environmental work, penalties, litigation costs and independent monitoring, along with a seven-year program to reduce the amount of poultry litter applied within the watershed.
