A group of Wisconsin farmers have filed a Syngenta lawsuit claiming that the company actively misled the U.S. corn industry into believing that China Viptera approval was imminent. 

Lead plaintiff Dustin N., along with 26 other corn farmers, have accused Syngenta AG of immediately commercializing the Viptera corn seed knowing that if the nation’s third largest corn importer ended up rejecting the genetically modified corn, U.S. farmers would suffer severe financial loss.

According to the GMO corn class action lawsuit, Syngenta violated the Lanham Act by using false or misleading representations of facts that were likely to deceive farmers about “the timing of its approval by China, its impact on export markets for U.S. corn, including China, the ability to channel MIR162 away from export markets which have not approved MIR162, and corn prices.”

The plaintiffs allege that Syngenta knew about the high likelihood that the GMO corn seed would contaminate the U.S. corn supply and virtually halt corn sales to China if the nation did not approve the modified seed.

When China ultimately decided to ban all U.S. corn with even a trace of MIR162, the American corn industry lost upwards of $3 billion. The Syngenta lawsuit claims that the impact of China’s ban will be felt for a long time.

The group of plaintiffs are seeking $75,000 in financial compensation for their loss due to the alleged premature commercializing of the Syngenta GMO corn seed.

Syngenta GMO Corn Seed Overview

In 2010, Syngenta began selling the genetically modified corn seed Viptera to corn farmers in the U.S. The corporation claimed that the new seed would have a better defense system against common corn pests including black cutworms and earworms.

U.S. corn farmers started to buy the Syngenta corn seed allegedly based on assurances from the company that China’s approval for the GMO seed would would occur within “a matter of a couple of days.”

However, China Viptera approval was significantly delayed. In fact, the nation took an even greater stance on the issue and decided to ban all corn with even a trace of MIR162. This virtually blocked all U.S. corn imports into China creating a crippling loss for the corn industry.

According to U.S. corn farmers, the industry is commodity based, meaning that when farmers harvest their corn, it gets consolidated and then shipped to a regional distribution center. From there, the corn is exported to foreign nations.

Farmers filing Syngenta lawsuits claim they were unaware that in order to prevent traces of MIR162 they would have needed to separate the GMO corn from non-GMO corn. Based on the nature of the corn export industry, even farmers who did not plant the Viptera seed suffered from the commingling of the GMO corn.

After the China ban on U.S. corn, sales around the world dropped by 85 percent.

Syngenta Class Action Lawsuits

Corn farmers across the U.S. continue to file lawsuits against Syngenta over allegations that the corporation recklessly disregarding the consequences of a potential export ban. More than 10,000 lawsuits have been filed so far by corn exporters, corn brokers and farmers. If you suffered financially due to China’s ban on U.S. corn, contact an attorney to find out if you have legal claim.

The Syngenta Corn Class Action Lawsuit is Dustin T. Nelson et al. v. Syngenta AG et al., Case No. 3:15-cv-00569-jdp in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.