From WATTAgNet:
Syngenta is seeking to appeal a U.S. court ruling that granted class action status to farmers in their lawsuits against the company over sales of biotech corn seeds not approved for import by China.
In an email to WATTAgNet, Syngenta said: “Syngenta strongly believes that class certification is inappropriate in this case, particularly given the widely varying ways in which farmers grow and sell corn in different markets across the U.S. Syngenta firmly believes that the Viptera China lawsuits lack merit and that Agrisure Viptera was commercialized in full compliance with regulatory and legal requirements.”
In September, a judge in the U.S. District Court of Kansas certified a nationwide class and statewide classes in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and South Dakota. At least 440,000 farmers sued after grain shipments containing traces of Syngenta’s Agrisure Viptera corn were rejected by China, which had not approved the variety for import before it was launched.
The plaintiffs in the case did not plant the Viptera corn, but claim they suffered $5 billion to $7 billion in losses of current and future revenue when China’s rejections – beginning in November 2013 – disrupted trade and negatively affected corn prices.
Syngenta Pursues Appeal in Viptera Lawsuit
Syngenta is challenging a federal judge’s ruling that creates a major class of farmers who could have been damaged as part of the ongoing lawsuit on Viptera corn. Syngenta filed an appeal last week with the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver over a case in which corn farmers are seeking more than $5 […]
Viptera: Syngenta Appeals Plaintiff Structure In Ongoing Suit – DTN
Syngenta is challenging a federal judge’s ruling that creates a major class of farmers who could have been damaged as part of the ongoing lawsuit on Viptera corn. Syngenta filed an appeal last week with the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver over a case in which corn farmers are seeking more than $5 billion in damages against the company.
