Two Southeast Missouri farmers awarded in first of bellwether trials

A St. Louis jury that found an agriculture company and several of its affiliates negligent awarded over $2 million to two Stoddard County long-grain rice farmers in the first of several bellwether trials scheduled for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. The jury last week found that Bayer's genetically modified rice had harmed their crops and livelihood, a news release said.

Ken Bell of Bell City was awarded $1.95 million in compensatory damages, and fellow rice farmer John Hunter of Essex was awarded $53,336 in compensatory damages. The jury did not award any punitive damages.

At issue was a genetically altered variety of rice that was found to have contaminated rice fields in several states. In August 2006, Bayer CropScience, part of BayerAG in Leverkusen, Germany, found trace amounts of a genetically modified rice, LLRICE601, in commercial rice samples taken in the U.S. and Europe. The findings resulted in a several countries halting U.S. rice imports and numerous others instituting new testing regulations. LLRICE 601 was developed as a herbicide-resistant crop.

"Discovery of the contamination led to a dramatic drop in U.S. rice prices, as the European Union stopped purchasing U.S. rice," said a statement from the news release. "The farmers suffered economic loss due to the much lower demand for their rice since 2006, when the contaminated rice was discovered."

Farmers from Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi filed more than 1,000 lawsuits against Bayer as a result of the loss of overseas markets. A Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated the cases in December 2006.

The plaintiff attorneys filed a consolidated class action complaint in 2007. Eastern District of Missouri Judge Catherine Perry denied the class action status, stating "plaintiffs' claims varied too much to fit as a class action." She set up a series of trials that have been called bellwether cases and the Missouri trial was the first. She also appointed former federal judge Stephen Limbaugh to work with the two sides in reaching a settlement.

Plaintiff attorney Don Downing of the St. Louis law firm Gray, Ritter & Graham maintained during the trial that Bayer's negligence has cost Bell more than $2.2 million. He said Hunter had quit rice farming altogether after suffering losses of $50,000.

Downing said Bell had 6,000 acres planted in rice when the contamination was found in 2006, while Hunter had 500 acres.

The next bellwether case, involving farmers from Arkansas and Mississippi, is set for Jan. 11. That trial will also be held in St. Louis.