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Latest developments involving Syngenta lawsuits

There are some new developments in the numerous lawsuits against Syngenta over the release of Viptera corn without Chinese import approval.

The most recent is that trial dates have been set on class-action lawsuits in seven other states including Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and Ohio. Those trials are scheduled for next year.

Iowa State University ag law specialist Kristine Tidgren says the next big trial is next month in a Minnesota state court.

“They have a class action for farmers from Minnesota. But then they also have about 60-thousand individual claims from farmers who have had individual representation,” Tidgren says. “That’s going to be the next big verdict, I think, that we hear.”

In June, Syngenta lost a 218 million dollar jury verdict involving Kansas farmers. Syngenta says it will appeal that decision, but Tidgren says the outcome of the upcoming Minnesota trial could cause Syngenta to re-evaluate its approach.

“If you have another trial and you would have another devastating verdict against Syngenta, that would definitely sort of up the ante for settlement,” Tidgren says.

In another recent development, Syngenta settled with an individual Nebraska farmer who had sued the company for damages. In a statement provided to Brownfield, Syngenta said the settlement does not represent a change in strategy for the company. The company says it will continue to fight the lawsuits and “defend the rights of farmers to have access to safe and effective U.S. seed technologies”.

Syngenta won a victory in June when an Ohio court dismissed a Viptera lawsuit filed on behalf of an Ohio ethanol plant.

The lawsuits claim Syngenta, by rushing its Viptera corn to market, contributed to a significant drop in corn prices in 2013 when China rejected shipments of U.S. corn containing the GMO trait. Syngenta says those claims are “without merit”.

“Syngenta commercialized Agrisure Viptera in full compliance with U.S. regulatory and legal requirements, including USDA, EPA, and FDA regulations.  Viptera had also received approval in the key import markets recommended at the time by the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and other industry associations. Syngenta believes that American farmers should have access to the latest U.S.-approved technology to help them increase their productivity and yield.  American farmers shouldn’t have to rely on a foreign government to decide what products they can use on their farms,” the company’s statement said.

AUDIO: Kristine Tidgren