Arkansas Jury Awards Rice Farmers $48 Million in GM Contamination Litigation

After less than two hours of deliberation, an Arkansas jury has reportedly awarded 12 rice farmers nearly $48 million in compensatory and punitive damages for the 2006 contamination of conventional rice stocks with a genetically modified (GM) strain. The farmers alleged that Europe and Japan stopped importing U.S. rice after the contamination became known, causing a precipitous drop in the price for their crops. Most of the award against Bayer CropScience was punitive; litigation against the company is pending in a number of other states. This jury verdict, reached on April 15, 2010, tops a $1 million award rendered against the company by another Alabama jury in March. Information about that verdict can be found in issue 341 of this Update. See Associated Press, April 15, 2010.