"In a statement released after the verdict, the company expressed disappointment, saying, in part, that it's in compliance with Texas air quality rules.

But that's another reason this case is getting attention: it doesn't necessarily matter whether the company is in compliance. The Parrs filed what's called a nuisance claim, the same kind of suit that's sometimes brought against unruly neighbors even if they haven't been charged with a crime.

The Parrs had to show not that the company was breaking the law (though they say it was), but that it was behaving unreasonably as a neighbor."...