January 29, 2015 — A woman from Texas has become the latest farmer to join a federal litigation involving economic losses from a genetically modified (GMO) corn seed.
The lawsuit was filed by Nancy Sugarek, a woman whose family owns farmland near Beeville, Texas, according to the San Antonio Business Journal.
Her attorney said corn prices dropped over 50%, from $7 per bushel in 2012 to only $3.25 per bushel in 2014.
Syngenta AG, a Swiss agribusiness, allegedly started asking China to approve imports of their GMO corn seed back in 2010. That same year, the United States approved the seed and a small percentage of corn farmers planted it.
Unfortunately, over 1.45 million metric tons of American corn were tainted with trace amounts of the seed because nearly all corn is stored and transported on shared equipment. China did not approve imports of the seed until December 2014. By that time, farmers had lost an estimated $1 billion.
In December 2014, federal judges created a Multi-District Litigation (MDL) in federal court in Kansas to centralize the lawsuits. As of January 15, Judge John W. Lungstrum oversaw about 220 lawsuits involving economic losses caused by GMO corn. Nearly two dozen class actions have also been filed against Syngenta by several states.
The litigation is sure to resemble one involving GMO rice, which ended with Bayer paying $750 million to about 11,000 farmers who lost money when several countries banned imports of the modified seed.
Do I have a GMO Corn Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting GMO corn induced economic loss cases in all 50 states. If you are a corn farmer or exporter who had financial losses due to GMO corn, 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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