Louisiana Rice Farmer Awarded $.5 Million Against GM Rice Maker

According to news sources, a St. Louis jury has awarded more than $500,000 to a Louisiana farmer who alleged that when the U.S. rice supply was contaminated in 2006 with a genetically modified (GM) crop that was somehow released from testing facilities, he lost $1.5 million due to lost sales abroad. In re: Genetically Modified Rice Litig., MDL No. 1811 (E.D. Mo.). The lawsuit is the third to reach trial of more than 500 consolidated before a multidistrict litigation court in eastern Missouri; it marks the third loss in federal court for the defendant, which is facing more than $52 million in jury awards. Two state trials also resulted in plaintiff verdicts. While the defendant has not apparently disputed the contamination, it has denied that it was negligent and contends that rice sales recovered shortly after the initial plunge. See Bloomberg Businessweek and Post Dispatch, July 14, 2010.