Lawsuits over herbicide dicamba to be heard in St. Louis

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- A special panel of judges said 11 lawsuits filed in four states against the makers of the herbicide dicamba will be centralized in federal court in St. Louis.

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation made the determination Thursday regarding farmers' lawsuits filed in Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Illinois. The lawsuits argue the makers of dicamba are responsible for damage caused by the herbicide to their crops, especially soybeans.

According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, attorneys for the companies that make dicamba opposed the centralization of the lawsuits but said that if it had to be done, St. Louis was their preferred location.

Arkansas has banned dicamba use from April 16 through Oct. 31 after the state received nearly 1,000 complaints last year about the weed killer.