A U.S. jury on Friday [June 23] ordered Syngenta AG to pay $217.7 million to more than 7,000 Kansas farmers over its decision to commercialize a genetically modified strain of corn before China approved importing it.
The verdict by a federal jury in Kansas City, Kansas, was announced by lawyers for the farmers, who blamed the Swiss company for causing catastrophic damage to them after Chinese officials began refusing U.S. corn shipments in 2013.
Their case was the first to go to trial. Thousands of other corn producers and traders also are seeking damages over China’s non-approval of the agrochemical giant’s corn seeds for importation.
Lawyers for the corn producers said in a statement that the verdict was “only the beginning.” They have claimed that damages for farmers nationally totaled $5.77 billion, according to court papers.
Syngenta said it will appeal the verdict, which included only compensatory damages and no punitive damages.
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In their lawsuit, the Kansas corn farmers accused Syngenta of negligently commercializing the corn seeds before obtaining export approval in China, a major importer.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Syngenta ordered to pay $217.7 million to Kansas farmers in GMO corn case
