Dave Domina is one of several attorneys representing farmers in their lawsuits against Syngenta. The farmers seek to recover lost income after China rejected U.S. corn sales due to the Viptera trait.
In December 2014, Domina Law Group began to report on China’s initial rejection of U.S. corn shipments due to the GMO trait Viptera. Farmers and exporters across the United States had begun to pursue legal action against Syngenta, claiming that it sold genetically modified corn seeds without first getting approval from China (one of the top three importers of U.S. corn), prompting farmers and others to lose income. Now, those hundreds of cases have been combined to be heard in three different district courts.
According to Domina, in news released by WNAX, some law firms handling Viptera cases are attempting to expand claims to other commodities. They claim that China’s rejection also had a negative impact on the price of other grains. Domina says that would be difficult to prove, and in fact, some commodities experienced a price increase around that time due to China compensating for the corn rejection by importing more corn substitutes.
Farmers began taking action over corn income losses early last year. Every corn producer and seller was encouraged to seek legal representation, since they had the potential to recover compensation for years 2011-2014 whether or not they used Syngenta brand corn. Although not all farmers used GMO corn seed (seed with the Viptera trait), cross-pollination contaminated all U.S. corn, prompting China’s rejection of corn imports.
Plaintiffs against Syngenta argue that growing the corn and allowing it into export channels prior to China’s approval of the MIR-162 event shocked the market, resulting in losses to farmers throughout the United States. You can learn more about Domina Law Group’s handling of Syngenta cases here.