Syngenta settlement approved by federal judge

By Evin Bachelor, Law Fellow, Agricultural and Resource Law Program, Ohio State University

The major multi-year class action lawsuit against Syngenta for failing to receive import approval from China before selling its Viptera and Duracade seeds in the United States has been settled for $1.51 billion.

On Dec. 7, Judge John Lungstrum of the U.S. District Court for the District Kansas issued a final order granting the settlement.

In the order, the court overruled a number of objections from class members who opposed the settlement. It also awarded one third of the settlement amount to the plaintiffs’ attorneys as attorney fees, valued at $503,333,333.33.

The next step could involve appeals by those opposed to the settlement. According to a statement posted by one of the co-lead counsels for the plaintiffs, payments to eligible parties could begin as early as the second quarter of 2019, depending upon whether any appeals are filed.