Kansas City, KS—More than 500 lawsuits filed in federal court against Syngenta over its GMO corn have been consolidated into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) proceeding in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. The Honorable John W. Lungstrum has been assigned to preside over the lawsuits.
Judge Lungstrum has scheduled a hearing for April 27, 2015 to consider whether Syngenta improperly removed lawsuits filed against the company in state court to federal court. Syngenta alleges that the claims involve international relations and thus pose a federal question. The plaintiffs disagree and have asked the Judge Lungstrum to return the cases to state court.
Document discovery is now underway in the cases, with Syngenta being ordered to produce documents from prior litigation with Bunge North America involving these same issues, as well as documents relating to its application with the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture to obtain approval of Agrisure Viptera (MIR162).