A class action settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against Bayer CropScience in federal district court in St. Louis, Missouri. The class action complaint alleged that farmers in Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi who planted long grain rice between 2006 and 2010 were supplied contaminated LibertyLink genetically modified rice. When it was discovered in the rice supply, LibertyLink had not yet been approved for sale for human consumption. Rice futures plunged, and Japan and European countries banned the import of U.S. rice.
The class action lawsuit settlement provides that settlement class members may be eligible for up to $310 an acre to compensate farmers for market losses who had long grain rice planted between 2006 and 2010. The settlement provides other compensation for farmers who planted either Clearfield 131 or Cheniere rice varieties in 2006 and who have certain documentation.
