Bayer, others defeat US farmers' chemical price-fixing lawsuit
By Mike Scarcella
Sept 16 (Reuters) -A U.S. judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing agriculture giants Bayer, Corteva, Syngenta and others of conspiring with wholesalers and retail outlets to fix prices for seeds and crop protection chemicals, causing farmers to pay higher prices.
St. Louis-based U.S. District Judge Sarah Pitlyk ruled on Friday that farmers and other plaintiffs failed to present sufficient allegations that the companies had violated U.S. antitrust law.
The farmers said Bayer and others schemed to collectively boycott electronic “crop inputs” platforms, depriving the ability of farms and other purchasers to make effective cost comparisons for key agricultural materials.
Pitlyk said the plaintiffs’ allegations did not rebut the companies’ claims that their practices served legitimate business purposes. She faulted the plaintiffs for advancing "mere generalizations" in their lawsuit.
Bayer, Corteva, Syngenta and BASF, another defendant, welcomed the court's ruling in separate statements. Bayer said the crop input market is "competitive, fair and diverse." Corteva said it will continue to "vigorously" compete in agricultural markets.
All of the defendants had denied any wrongdoing.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs at law firms Lockridge Grindal Nauen and Gustafson Gluek declined to comment.
The case includes lawsuits that were filed across the country in 2021. The crop protection chemicals at issue include fungicides, herbicides and insecticides.
Farmers accused wholesale and retail outlets of pressuring manufacturers such as Bayer not to deal with emerging e-commerce platforms that would have opened the crop input market to greater price transparency.
The defendants countered that there was no evidence supporting the plaintiffs’ conspiracy claims, and that any resistance to the electronic platforms “was entirely consistent with each individual defendant’s independent commercial interests.”
The case is In re: Crop Inputs Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, No. 4:21-md-02993-SEP.
Read more:
Bayer defeats competition claims in US trial over flea and tick treatment
US states flex new power to steer antitrust lawsuits
Syngenta, Corteva must face FTC lawsuit over pesticide 'loyalty programs'
Quinn Emanuel among law firms picked to lead pesticide antitrust litigation
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
