Attorneys handling Syngenta corn lawsuits currently underway as multidistrict litigation in United States District Court in Kansas announce progress in the case’s pretrial proceedings.
A telephone hearing was held April 8 to discuss the establishment of a Common Benefit Fund Order. The topics discussed in the telephone hearing include the role of plaintiffs’ attorneys who have not been appointed to roles on the leadership team known as the Plaintiff’s Liaison Counsel, percentages allotted to each type of legal representative, the payment of general legal expenses by the various attorneys, and the enforcement of a Participation Agreement on these matters, according to the hearing notice, an official court document.
While Syngenta corn litigation is already underway, new cases are still being accepted, according to Syngenta corn attorneys at the Onder Law Firm in St. Louis, Missouri. Farmers and grain companies that have filed claims as a part of this national litigation allege they have suffered economic losses as a result of Syngenta’s release of Viptera corn seed prior to widespread international approval, according to court documents.
Viptera is a genetically modified corn seed designed to resist a variety of common pests, which had not been accepted for import by China, a major U.S. export market, according to court documents.