The injunction halting development on the proposed 60-house commercial poultry farm in southern Coffee County has been extended until September 29, 2025. The next hearing, scheduled for that day, will take place at the Coffee County Courthouse.
Last week, on August 12, 2025, a hearing took place in the courtroom at the Coffee County Jail regarding the controversial poultry project. Five plaintiffs – Bruce Brooker, Rebecca Temple, Legrand Roberts, Hamp Adams, and Sims Funeral Homes, Inc., — had filed suit against the developers in hopes of halting the project. The judge assigned to the case, Judge Kelly Brooks, granted a 30-day injunction ceasing all physical development of the property and scheduled a hearing for August 12.
The day before the hearing, on Monday, August 11, attorneys for the defendants, filed a motion for dismissal, citing lack of venue and failure to state a claim against some or all of the defendants. The lack of venue is related to conducting the hearing at the Law Enforcement Center instead of at the Coffee County Courthouse; there was no courtroom available at the courthouse on August 12 and the LEC courtroom is quite small.
The motion states that the plaintiffs’ complaints “are not traditional nuisance complaints but are for ‘anticipatory nuisance.’” The motion further states that there is a very high burden associated with such a complaint and the plaintiffs have not met that burden. The motion reads “the allegations contained in the Plaintiffs’ Complaint and Motion for Temporary Restraining Order fall far short of that high burden and are not supported by competent evidence. Instead, Plaintiffs rely on generalized allegations that are vague, speculative, unsubstantiated, and intended to promote fear and inequality.” The defendants further stated that “Plaintiffs engage in agricultural activities on their properties, including poultry and livestock operations, among other things, yet seek to enjoin the Defendants from doing the same.”
In the original complaint, the plaintiffs named David Varnedore Jr., the former property owner, as owner of the 78.67-acre Tract 6, which will include six chicken houses upon completion of the project. The motion states that this is not true and Varnedore does not own that tract. It further states that S&P GA Farms owns that tract. The motion includes the following: “Plaintiffs have dragged Mr. Varnedore’s name through the mud in the media and into this lawsuit as a named party in the Complaint on the incorrect assumption that he owns a portion of the property involved in this action . . . Accordingly, Plaintiff’s Complaints fail to state a claim against Varnedore and should be dismissed.”
Judge Brooks has not made a ruling on this motion. The injunction has been extended until September 29 and a second hearing has been scheduled for that date. The motion to dismiss can be seen in its entirety below.