In recent corn market news, a South Dakota plaintiff has joined the rising number of corn growers taking action against Syngenta for its alleged role in the decline in corn market prices.

Plaintiff Russell H. is one of South Dakota’s corn growers who claims to have been affected by Syngenta’s actions affecting corn market prices.

According to his Syngenta lawsuit, the plaintiff was severely damaged by the drop in corn market prices, allegedly due to Syngenta’s early release of Viptera corn into the U.S. corn supply.

Russell’s lawsuit claims that Syngenta’s release of the Viptera corn strain led to the destruction of the U.S. corn export market. According to the lawsuit, Syngenta made misleading statements about the potential effects of the Viptera strain on U.S. exports and corn market prices, and it also failed to disclose relevant information about the strain’s approval status to corn growers.

According to the lawsuit, Syngenta was aware of the probability that China would not approve the Viptera strain but concealed this knowledge from corn growers and other members of the corn industry, instead informing them that China’s approval was imminent.

Ultimately, this lawsuit and others like it filed by corn growers allege that Syngenta’s actions led to the crippling of the 2013-2014 corn export market to China, damaging the plaintiff and the entire corn industry.

The plaintiff filed his Syngenta lawsuit on multiple counts, including violation of the Lanham Act, public nuisance, and negligence, among others.

Syngenta’s GMO Viptera Strain

In 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture authorized the introduction of Syngenta’s GMO Viptera strain into the U.S. corn market. While the strain was perfectly legal to use in the U.S. market, the lawsuits allege that it was not approved in China until October 2014.

In the meantime, China had cut off U.S. corn imports, allegedly to keep Syngenta’s Viptera strain out. This ban affected all levels of the corn industry. Even after the ban was lifted, according to these lawsuits, Chinese imports of U.S. corn have drastically decreased – by about 85 percent.

Syngenta Corn Market News

Syngenta lawsuits claim that the agribusiness’ release of genetically modified corn strains into the market led directly to the Chinese ban on U.S. corn imports, which in turn dropped corn prices and severely damaged all aspects of the U.S. corn industry, and especially corn farmers.

The Syngenta corn farmer lawsuits claim that the company failed to be completely transparent about the approval status of MIR162 corn in China, and also understated the potential impact of China’s lack of approval on the U.S. corn industry.

Indeed, corn market news indicates that the growing number of Syngenta lawsuits allege that Syngenta deliberately misled the public and the corn industry about China’s stance toward the MIR162 Viptera strain.

If you or someone you know has been negatively affected by Syngenta’s Viptera strain or declining corn prices, you may be able to file an individual Syngenta corn lawsuit, or join a Syngenta class action lawsuit.

The Syngenta Corn Lawsuit is Case No. 1:16-cv-01001-CBK, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Division of the District of South Dakota.