Missouri farmers are taking a legal stand against Syngenta, a Switzerland-based foundation focused on assisting crop producers by investing in genetically modified crops (GMOs).
Watts Guerra LLP teamed up with Jefferson City-based Call and Gentry Law Group to help Missouri farmers receive a payout for the money they lost following the decline of corn prices in 2013 due to Syngenta's introduction of a GMO corn seed that had not yet been approved for sale in China, according to the Call and Gentry website.
The corn seed, called Agrisure Viptera MIR162, was designed to be resistant to insects like the corn borer and corn rootworm, according the the Call and Gentry website. MIR162 was approved in the U.S. for cultivation in 2010, according to Syngenta's website, and received approval for import in major importing countries. However, that did not include China, which didn't approve the seed until 2014.
In June of 2013, importers in China found traces of MIR162 in different U.S. corn shipments, which forced the country to shut down all imports for U.S. corn. This subsequently forced bushel prices down from $7 to $3.30. The purpose of the lawsuit is to return the difference of those prices to corn farmers in the U.S.
"We hold companies accountable for when they cause people damages," Attorney Chip Gentry said. "We're interested in helping individuals recover the losses they themselves have suffered."
Watts Guerra LLP, which is spearheading the litigation is reaching out to law offices in various states that produce a high corn yield in order to assemble farmers around the country and file against Syngenta, Watts Guerra Attorney Linda Leibfarth said. Watts Guerra began filing lawsuits in the beginning of January and have been in touch with representatives in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Tennessee, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas and Colorado. Those and seven other states produce 99 percent of corn in the U.S., so Watts Guerra is working with the states that have the highest corn production, she said.
"We work with local firms to make sure we're following the laws and procedures in the state," Leibfarth said. "It's also so farmers have a local connection closer to where they live."
Leibfarth speculates that more than 400,000 farmers were affected and more than 20,000 have filed lawsuits against Syngenta. Additional lawsuits are expected to be filed as the litigation process begins.
Missouri lawsuits continue to roll in to Call and Gentry.
"There are over 24,000 corn farmers in Missouri, with the amount of acreage and production involved we're a huge exporter of corn," Gentry said. "It's critically important companies like Syngenta that can affect and duly run down prices are held accountable."
Although the different states may have different statutes of limitations for filing against Syngenta, Leibfarth argues that the effects of the price decline and China's refusal of U.S. corn imports in 2013 are still being felt.
"Corn farmers are still feeling the effects of depressed prices, so now is the time to be filing lawsuits," Leibfarth said.
Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland, both which are large U.S. agricultural companies, have also filed against Syngenta following the corn price decline, Leibfarth said.
Syngenta responded to Cargill's lawsuit by stating that the seed was approved for U.S. cultivation in 2010, and that the company followed regulations necessary for commercializing the seed, including obtaining approval for imports in major corn importing countries, according to Syngenta's website.
However, this isn't the first time Watts Guerra has litigated against companies that support GMO crops. In 2011 Bayer, a German-based company, agreed to a $750 million settlement after a new strain of GMO rice being tested in Louisiana ended up pollinating nearby rice supplies, Leibfarth said. Since the strain had not yet been approved for commercial sale in the U.S. farmers were unable to sell their rice forcing the price of rice down.
Over the next several months Watts Guerra will continue to file country-wide lawsuits against Syngenta and begin the litigation process, which will require them to identify how much of the price drop in corn was due to the MIR162.
"A settlement will get a portion of the drop of price of corn back in the farmers' pockets," Leibfarth said.