Dicamba Litigation
$400 Million Dicamba Settlement Agreement Reached
Monsanto’s successor Bayer AG has agreed to pay up to $300 Million to soybean producers and additional amounts to producers of other non-soybean and specialty crops who have suffered dicamba damage from dicamba sprayed ‘over the top’ of dicamba tolerant soybeans or cotton between 2015 and 2020. Bayer has agreed to pay attorneys’ fees, litigation expenses and claims administration expenses and other costs in addition to the amounts provided to qualified claimants. The total settlement value is expected to reach up to $400 Million.
The settlement comes in the wake of a $265 Million verdict against Bayer and BASF in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, before United States District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr. On February 14, 2020, a jury awarded $15 Million in compensatory damages and $250 Million in punitive damages to Bader Farms, a peach grower in Southeast Missouri, in the first trial in the multidistrict litigation involving farmers suing Monsanto’s successor Bayer AG and German Chemical conglomerate BASF over crop damages from off-target movement of Dicamba Herbicide.
Attorneys at the Blanton Law Firm worked with other law firms at the forefront of this multidistrict litigation against Monsanto and BASF. Attorneys at the Blanton Law Firm have worked closely with attorneys on the Court-appointed Plaintiff’s Executive Committee, to help achieve this result.
If you have suffered Dicamba related damage, you may be eligible for compensation. Blanton, Nickell, Collins, Douglas & Hanschen, LLC is happy to help. Our law firm draws on more than 100 years of excellence in legal service to our clients. Attorneys at the firm have been at the vanguard of this issue, and have litigated to obtain compensation for farmers damaged by dicamba drift. We will work to obtain the best recovery for your farming operation possible. We live in Southeast Missouri, and this has clearly been a problem for our local agricultural economy. We will be happy to discuss your claim and help you obtain compensation for your losses.
Please call us today at (573) 471-1000 or e-mail Patrick Douglas at pdouglas@blantonlaw.com to discuss your claims.
What is Dicamba?
If you are a farmer, you’ve likely seen the signs of Dicamba damage in our local bootheel counties. Signs of Dicamba Damage include: cupped leaves, stunted growth, discoloration, wrinkling, leaf elongation, twisting, trumpeting, epinasty, and ultimately, reduced yields.
Dicamba is an old broad-spectrum herbicide. In recent years, large Agricultural companies have developed and introduced Dicamba tolerant crop seeds. These companies have also developed post-emergent Dicamba herbicide to spray in-crop that supposedly addressed the problem of volatility and off-target drift endemic to earlier versions and formulations of Dicamba. However, these herbicides are still volatile and tend to drift to off target crops after applications.
Dicamba is very destructive to broad-leaf plants not tolerant to it, including non-gmo soybeans, cotton, trees, fruits, vegetables, and other row crops. Non-Dicamba tolerant soybeans are highly sensitive to the herbicide, even in very small amounts, and can suffer loss of pods, stunted growth, inhibition of node development, and reduced number of soybeans per pod. All of this adds up to lost yields for local farmers in our community.
Legal Action for Dicamba Damage
Farmers around the state and the country have filed thousands of complaints regarding dicamba damage. Thousands of investigations are on-going and it is believed that more than 3.5 million acres of soybeans alone have been affected by Dicamba damage since the introduction of Dicamba tolerant seed.
Dicamba lawsuits have been consolidated into Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) proceedings before United States District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr., in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The producers represented in this litigation come from a number of different states. All the complaints allege that they suffered economic damages due to Monsanto’s decision to release Dicamba-Tolerant (DT) cotton and soybean seeds without a safe and non-volatile formulation of Dicamba herbicide to apply over the top of the DT cotton and soybeans. The lawsuits alleged that all the current versions of the Dicamba formulations are prove to volatize and drift off-target. Monsanto and BASF denied these allegations and have vigorously defended the litigation. Monsanto’s successor Bayer has now agreed to settle this litigation to avoid further costs and possible liability in the litigation.
If you or anyone you know has suffered Dicamba related damage, to either soybeans or other crops, please contact the attorneys at Blanton, Nickell, Collins, Douglas & Hanschen, LLC. Our law firm We will be happy to discuss your claim and help you obtain compensation for your losses through the settlement.
Please call us today at (573) 471-1000 or e-mail Patrick Douglas at pdouglas@blantonlaw.com to discuss your claims.