Feds combine lawsuits by rice farmers

Lawsuits filed by hundreds of rice farmers in three states over genetically contaminated rice have been consolidated, creating a single legal action that is one of the largest of its kind.

The farmers claim their profits were hurt after an experimental form of genetically altered rice escaped from test plots run by Bayer CropScience AG.

The so-called Liberty Link rice wasn't approved for human consumption, and rice prices dropped after traces of it were discovered in U.S. grain elevators. It has since been approved for use.

The federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ruled Tuesday that all the cases should be consolidated and tried before U.S. Judge Catherine Perry in the Eastern District of Missouri in St. Louis. Farmers from Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri filed the suits.

The numerous lawsuits deal with the same legal issues and merging them will streamline the litigation, according to the ruling signed by U.S. Judge Terrell Hodges.

The ruling said 12 lawsuits will be consolidated and that 21 additional similar lawsuits should be considered "tag alongs" to the litigation, meaning those lawsuits could be included in the main litigation.

Bayer CropScience, a German company with U.S. headquarters in Research Triangle Park, N.C., did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday.

St. Louis is the right venue for the rice lawsuit because its judges frequently hear cases over genetically altered crops, said Don Downing, an attorney representing 283 Missouri rice farmers in the case.

St. Louis-based Monsanto Co. is the world's biggest developer of genetically altered seeds. The federal court in its backyard hears cases over contract disputes and other issues arising from the technology, Downing said.

"The judges are much more knowledgeable about genetically modified organisms because of Monsanto being here," said Downing, who practices in St. Louis.

Chicago-based attorney Adam Levitt said the most similar case to the Bayer lawsuit is litigation filed in 2000 over the release of genetically engineered StarLink corn. The crop was only partially approved for human consumption, he said.

Levitt, who represents rice farmers in the Bayer case, said the StarLink action settled out of court for $110 million in 2003.

Companies such as Monsanto and Bayer constantly test new breeds of genetically altered crops in open fields in the United States and elsewhere. The U.S. Department of Agriculture monitors the test plots to make sure the crops don't escape into mainstream supplies.

The Agriculture Department retroactively approved Liberty Link rice last month. Bayer said in a written statement that it welcomed the decision. The rice was modified to be herbicide-tolerant, and Bayer said regulators have found it poses no human health or environmental concern.

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On the Net:

Bayer CropScience AG: http://www.bayercropscience.com