A $1.5 billion settlement has been reached in the Syngenta MIR-162 class-action lawsuit. Thousands of farmers, grain handlers and ethanol plants sued Syngenta in federal court for introducing Viptera and Duracade corn for the 2011 season, prior to China import approval in 2014. They claimed the decision closed the Chinese corn market and caused prices to drop for several years.
One of the attorneys, David Domina of Domina Law in Omaha, says the settlement must be approved by a federal judge in Kansas. It will create a fund to pay claims by farmers who contracted to price corn or byproducts after Sept. 15, 2013. If approved, money could be distributed to class members in the first half of 2019.
In June of 2017 a federal grand jury in Kansas awarded nearly $218 million to around 7,300 growers who sued Syngenta. Domina says they were only a part of the 38,000 farmers effected.
And Domina says farmers that weren’t part of the original class can still claim a settlement.
Another trial was in progress in state court in Minnesota when the preliminary settlement was reached and that is part of this decision. The settlement does not include exporters such as Cargill and ADM. It is believed to be the largest agricultural litigation settlement in U.S. history.
the preliminary settlement did not “constitute an admission by either side concerning merits of the parties’ allegations and defenses.” The agribusiness giant contended that corn prices dropped because of market forces, not China’s rejection of Viptera.
