The number of Syngenta lawsuits emerging from the Syngenta Viptera corn seed debacle involving rejected shipments from China has not stopped. Farmers, handlers and processors are going to the courts in droves. Three new Syngenta lawsuits were launched May 7, putting the number of cases closing in on 1,500. Legal experts expect that number to grow. And in the midst of it all, multinational seed and pesticide business Monsanto has approached Syngenta about a possible merger.

Syngenta Viptera Corn Litigation

The multidistrict litigation is In Re: Syngenta AG MIR162 Corn Litigation, MDL No. 2591. At issue is a recommendation by Syngenta that farmers plant Viptera corn seed in an effort to increase yields and eliminate corn pests through the use of trait MIR162 in the modification of the GMO corn.

The majority of countries on the U.S. exportation roster had already approved MIR162. Syngenta believed approval by China was imminent, and therefore strongly promoted Syngenta Viptera corn to farmers.

When those crops were subsequently exported to China, they were rejected since they had yet to approve the trait. What made matters worse, due to the mixing and handling of corn during the distribution process, corn not grown with the MIR162 strain was mixed with corn containing the GMO trait.

This resulted in the rejection of all U.S. corn exports from China for a significant period of time until China finally approved Viptera corn, but the financial damage had been done. Corn prices in the United States plummeted, and farmers not having adopted use of the Syngenta corn were adversely affected due to Viptera corn cross contamination. The National Grain and Feed Association estimated Syngenta’s push to market Viptera corn cost U.S. farmers $1.14 billion in losses for the last nine months of 2014.

Not surprisingly, farmers began filing Syngenta genetically modified corn seed lawsuits. In February, Wisconsin corn growers filed a class action lawsuit in federal court that coincides with additional Syngenta corn class action lawsuits filed in Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri.

These Syngenta lawsuits similarly allege that Syngenta’s misconduct compromised the integrity of the corn market and accuse Syngenta of rushing Viptera corn to increase its own profits without regard to the fact that its actions significantly damaged the price of corn being sold by U.S. farmers.

Syngenta Considers Monsanta Merger

Despite the lawsuits, multinational seed and pesticide business Monsanto has approached Syngenta about a possible merger. Although the first offer was rejected, business experts and GMO opponents warn that a deal is still possible and could have far-reaching consequences for farmers and consumers.

The new mega-corporation formed in the proposed deal would be “the world’s largest seed and crop chemical company with more than $30 billion in revenue and control over 35 percent of the world’s seed supply. It would dominate a market that includes other big Ag players like Dupont Pioneer.

There is no word on how Syngenta Viptera corn litigation liability plays into this while the number of lawsuits filed against Syngenta are still growing.