August 10, 2015 — The Wall Street Journal reports that Trans Coastal Supply Co., an Illinois grain-shipping company, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and blames their losses on China’s rejection of GMO-tainted corn.
The United States approved sales of genetically-modified (GMO) corn in 2010. Initially, Syngenta’s insect-resistant GMO seed, Agrisure Viptera (MIR162), was only planted on a small percentage of American corn acres. However, it rapidly contaminated much of the nation’s supply due to cross-pollination and cross-contamination during storage and shipment.
Trans Coastal’s president said they had “had been led to believe” that China would approve the seed. Instead, China rejected 1.2 million tons of GMO-tainted American corn and prices plummeted.
Trans Coastal blamed their losses on a number of factors, including:
“…abandoned cargos, rejected documents, rejected cargos, devaluation of markets, and defaulted sales contracts by customers uncertain of their ability to accept delivery, which, combined with our losses resulting from the opposite purchase contracts have debilitated our company.”
It was not until December 2014 that China finally approved imports of GMO corn seed. By that time, corn farmers lost an estimated $1-3 billion and the economic effects reverberated throughout the entire industry.
Syngenta is now facing hundreds of lawsuits at the state and federal level. As of July 15, there were nearly 400 lawsuits pending in on federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL No. 2591) in Kansas. Lawyers argue that Syngenta knew or should have known the impact their seed would have on the corn industry, but recklessly marketed it anyway.
Do I have a Syngenta GMO Corn Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting cases in all 50 states. If you are corn farmer or business owner who lost money due to China’s rejection of Syngenta Viptera 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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