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A Georgia couple, Shaun and Amie Harris, along with their company H&L Farms LLC, has settled a lawsuit with the developers and contractors of a neighboring solar farm just two months after a judge ruled a second trial was necessary to determine damages in the multimillion-dollar case.

The settlement, reached on Thursday, resolves the Harrises’ claims that Silicon Ranch Corp., Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives Inc. (IEA), and IEA Constructors LLC polluted a 21-acre fishing lake on their property. The pollution was allegedly caused by clearing and mass-grading around 1,000 acres of timberland, farmland, and other land without implementing adequate erosion and sediment control measures.

The specific terms of the settlement are being kept confidential at the request of the defendants, according to the Harrises' attorney, James E. Butler Jr. He added that the Harrises are "pleased to finally have this behind them," acknowledging that the legal battle had been a "long and miserable three and a half years" for them. The dispute began in April 2021, when the alleged environmental damage occurred.

The settlement brings an end to a second trial that had been scheduled for November by U.S. District Judge Clay D. Land. The first trial had awarded the Harrises $135 million, but Judge Land found the amount excessive. The second trial would have focused primarily on the amount of damages to be awarded.

Representatives for the other parties involved were unavailable for comment immediately.

The legal teams representing the parties include James E. Butler Jr., Daniel E. Philyaw, and Caroline W. Schley of Butler Prather LLP for the Harrises; Andrew T. Bayman and Charles G. Spalding Jr. of King & Spalding LLP, and Alycen A. Moss and Danielle C. Le Jeune of Cozen O'Connor for Silicon Ranch; and Charles E. Peeler, Jill C. Kuhn, Mark L. Bailey, and Alexander J. Hill of Troutman Pepper Locke LLP, and Charles E. Rogers, Steven J. Stuart, and Sarah K. Carpenter of Smith Currie & Hancock LLP for Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives and IEA Constructors.

The case is H&L Farms LLC et al. v. Silicon Ranch Corp. et al., case number 4:21-cv-00134, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.