WINCHESTER, Ind. (AP): A judge has ruled state law protects the operator of large hog farms from lawsuits filed by residents of an eastern Indiana county.



The lawsuits against North Carolina-based Maxwell Farms accused it of allowing hog waste to accumulate and letting noxious odors spread from the Randolph County farms.



Special Judge Marianne Vorhees ruled that Indiana's right-to-farm law is constitutional and the lawsuits could only proceed with evidence of negligence.



The Star Press of Muncie reports records show the number of hogs in Randolph County tripled in five years to more than 175,000 in 2012.



Maxwell Farms says the lawsuits represent a few people who want to discredit the hog industry. An attorney for the residents says they were living in the area before what he called industrialized facilities opened.