Supreme Court rules on pesticide suit.

The United States Supreme Court has ruled that manufacturers of pesticides can be sued for damages if their products cause harm, rejecting the opinion of the Bush Administration and sending a Texas case back to the lower court. The ruling has obvious implications for the private club industry.

The 7-2 ruling said that farmers whose crops are damaged by pesticides can sue for damages. In its first ruling on the scope of the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the justices said the federal requirement that chemical companies submit their products for approval by the EPA did not "give pesticide manufacturers virtual immunity" from being sued. The plaintiffs, however, still must prove the products to be harmful to people, plants, or animals. The justices said the Federal Act does not preclude challenges in state court, as long as those lawsuits do not seek to impose additional or different regulations from those in FIFRA.