Trial dates are now set for next year in Iowa and six other states in class action lawsuits targeting agri-business giant Syngenta. Numerous suits are filed over the release of Viptera corn without Chinese import approval. Iowa State University ag law specialist Kristine Tidgren says the next big trial is next month.

 

In June, Syngenta lost a 218-million dollar jury verdict involving Kansas farmers. Syngenta says it will appeal that decision, but Tidgren says the outcome of the Minnesota trial could cause Syngenta to re-evaluate its strategy.

 

In addition to Iowa, class-action lawsuits are also planned for next year in: Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Nebraska, South Dakota and Ohio. The suits claim Syngenta, by rushing its Viptera corn to market, contributed to a significant drop in corn prices in 2013 when China rejected shipments of U-S corn containing the G-M-O trait. Syngenta says those claims are “without merit.”