January 21, 2015 — Syngenta AG is facing a rapidly-growing number of lawsuits involving Viptera, a genetically modified (GMO) corn seed, despite last month’s approval of the seed by Chinese authorities.
The modified trait, MIR162, makes the corn resistant to some of the most common agricultural pests. The seed was marketed under the name Agrisure Viptera and approved in the United States in 2010.
Although Viptera was only planted on 3% of corn acres, it contaminated much of the nation’s supply. When China refused to import GMO-tainted corn, prices plummeted and corn farmers lost at least $1 billion.
Law360 reports a man from Missouri has become the latest corn farmer to join the litigation against Syngenta.
The lawsuit accuses Syngenta of negligence:
“Although it knew that it lacked approval from Chinese authorities, Syngenta misinformed farmers, grain elevators, grain exporters, and the general public into believing that regulatory approval of MIR162 corn from China was imminent and that the lack of Chinese approval would not impact the corn market prices.”
About 150 similar lawsuits have been centralized in a federal court in Kansas. In addition, last month Law360 reported that 20 states had filed class actions against Syngenta.
Those states include Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
It is possible that the corn litigation will grow to rival the size of a similar litigation involving GMO rice seed. In 2011, Bayer paid $750 million to about 11,000 American rice farmers when the GMO seed tainted 30% of rice acres, destroying export value to Europe and Japan.
Do I have a GMO Corn Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting GMO corn induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you are a corn farmer or exporter who had financial losses due to Syngenta Viptera, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Class Action Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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