October 2, 2015 — Syngenta has lost its bid to dismiss hundreds of lawsuits involving economic losses from genetically modified (GMO) corn, paving the way for trials.
Syngenta argued that it had no control over third-parties who bought their products, and therefore no responsibility for tainting the nation’s corn supply or causing up to $3 billion in economic losses when China rejected imports of American corn.
According to The Daily Statesman, U.S. District Judge John W. Lungstrum issued the following statement:
“The law reasonably imposes a duty on a manufacturer to exercise reasonable care not to commercialize and sell its product in a way that creates a risk of widespread harm resulting from the intended use of the product by all of its customers.”
Judge Lungstrum also said Syngenta should have known that the corn industry is inter-connected, noting that Syngneta actually told farmers they would take steps to prevent the economic catastrophe that occurred.
China finally approved imports of GMO-tainted American corn in December 2014. However, exports to China have never fully recovered. Syngenta is now facing dozens of class actions and hundreds of lawsuits in a centralized federal litigation in Kansas.
The judge’s decision clears the way for trials. Syngenta is facing formidable opposition — plaintiffs’ counsel includes the law firm that sued Bayer for introducing a GMO rice seed that devastated American rice exports. About 11,000 rice farmers were awarded $750 million in 2011.
Do I have a Syngenta GMO Corn Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting cases in all 50 states. If you had economic losses from China’s rejection of GMO corn seed, 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.
Attention Lawyers: We consider a referral from another law firm to be one of the greatest compliments. If your firm is interested in referring us a case or for us to send you a list of previous award judgments and/or average referral fees, please visit the Lawyer Referral section of our website.
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC has been recognized as one of the nation’s leading plaintiffs' law firms and handles cases in all 50 states. We are very proud of our legal achievements, but equally self-respecting of our firm's reputation for providing personal attention to each and every client we represent.
