This is not the first lawsuit to target the Monsanto and BASF dicamba-tolerant crop system, but this particular class action seeks relief for farmers whose nearby non-dicamba-tolerant crops were damaged by the use of the Monsanto-BASF system. The complaint for this class action claims that the problems include “crop damage, yield loss, total failure of the crop, and financial ruin to impacted farmers.”
The class for this action is all farmers and entities who raise non-dicamba-tolerant crops and suffered damage to those crops as a result of the defendants’ conduct, between 2015 and the present.
The defendants in the case include Monsanto Company, BASF SE, BASF Corporation, BASF Plant Science, LP, EI DuPont de Nemours and Company, and Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.
Dicamba is a synthetic herbicide. It has been in use for years to control weeds, but because it is very volatile, the complaint claims that farmers have only been able to use it at certain times of the year.
In recent years, Monsanto has developed a dicamba-resistant “crop system” that uses dicamba-tolerant plants in conjunction with dicamba herbicides. The herbicides are made by Monsanto and other companies, such as BASF and DuPont. They are to be used on “over-the-top” plants, when they are emerging from the ground, and at other times during the growing season when, according to the complaint, dicamba use was previously restricted.
The problem, according to the complaint, is that crops in other farmers’ fields are not dicamba-tolerant. Vapor particles can lift into the atmosphere and move away; it can be moved by climatic inversions, wind drift, water run-off, and attachment to dust. When it reaches non-dicamba-tolerant crops, the complaint says, it can kill or damage them.
Soybeans are particularly vulnerable to dicamba, as are grapes, lima beans, snap beans, sweet potatoes, cotton, peppers, tomatoes, and watermelon. Although dicamba has been in use for many years, it has never previously been applied to over-the-top crops, the complaint claims, so that these herbicides involve a whole new introduction with crops that are very much at risk.
The complaint claims that the crop system was marketed as safe, including in its “safety to nearby crops.” However, it points out that none of the instructions for use on the label can prevent contamination of nearby crops.
One of the accusations that the complaint makes is that other farmers might be forced to switch to the Monsanto crop system in self-defense, unjustly enriching the company and increasing their hold on the market.
Among other things, the complaint cites product liability, negligence, breach of warranties, and fraud.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Monsanto, BASF Dicamba-Tolerant Crop System Damage to Nearby Crops Complaint
May 22, 2018
This is not the first lawsuit to target the Monsanto and BASF dicamba-tolerant crop system, but this particular class action seeks relief for farmers whose nearby non-dicamba-tolerant crops were damaged by the use of the Monsanto-BASF system. The complaint for this class action claims that the problems include “crop damage, yield loss, total failure of the crop, and financial ruin to impacted farmers.”
monsanto_complaint.pdfCase Event History
Monsanto, BASF Dicamba-Tolerant Crop System Damage to Nearby Crops Complaint
May 22, 2018
This is not the first lawsuit to target the Monsanto and BASF dicamba-tolerant crop system, but this particular class action seeks relief for farmers whose nearby non-dicamba-tolerant crops were damaged by the use of the Monsanto-BASF system. The complaint for this class action claims that the problems include “crop damage, yield loss, total failure of the crop, and financial ruin to impacted farmers.”
monsanto_complaint.pdf