Category: Global Courts
-
Russian Court Favors Development Fund in Land Dispute, Rare Fruits and Berries May Be Destroyed
A Russian court has reportedly given the green light to a housing development agency to build houses on a field where thousands of rare berries and other fruits have been preserved since the 1920s. The Pavlovsk Experimental Station, located near St. Petersburg, was apparently developed to serve as an historic gene bank. Scientists over the…
-
Ninth Circuit Disciplines Lawyers Who Tried to Enforce Nicaraguan Pesticide Exposure Judgment in U.S. Courts
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has imposed a suspension, a formal reprimand and fines on several attorneys who attempted to enforce in U.S. courts a $489 million default judgment entered by a Nicaraguan court against a business entity that did not exist for allegedly exposing hundreds of banana plantation workers to pesticides. In re:…
-
Defamation Verdict Against Peruvian Scientist in GM Maize Research Dispute to Be Reviewed
According to a news source, the Peruvian Superior Court has agreed to hear an appeal filed by a medical sciences biotechnologist convicted of defamation by a lower court for criticizing another scientist whose research allegedly showed that genetically modified (GM) maize had been illegally planted in a valley on the Peruvian coast. The researcher, Antonietta…
-
EU Settles WTO Dispute with Argentina over Biotech Agriculture
The European Union (EU) and Argentina have apparently reached an agreement in a dispute before the World Trade Organization (WTO) involving genetically engineered products and the application of biotechnology to agriculture. The agreement, which provides for the establishment of a regular dialogue on these issues, follows a similar agreement the EU struck with Canada, which,…
-
EU High Court Adviser Rules Argentine Soy Meal Not Protected by EU Patent on GE Soybeans
A European Court of Justice adviser has determined that Monsanto Co. cannot seek royalties from a company that imported from Argentina soy meal containing residues of Monsanto’s patented gene. Case C-428/08, Monsanto Tech. LLC v. Cefetra BV (Op. of Advocate Gen. Mengozzi, delivered March 9, 2010). Monsanto has no patent on its Roundup Ready® soybeans in…
-
French Court Imposes Fines and Suspended Sentences in Wine Scam
A court in Carcassonne, France, has reportedly found French winemakers and traders guilty of deliberately and repeatedly mislabeling wine as a more expensive grape variety to get a better price from E. & J. Gallo under its Red Bicyclette® brand. French customs officials apparently discovered the swindle when they found that the amount of “pinot…
-
Federal Court Denies Request for Delay of COOL Implementation
A federal court in Washington has reportedly denied a feedlot company’s request to invalidate or delay implementation of the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) regulations adopted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2008. Easterday Ranches, Inc. v. USDA, No. __ (E.D. Wash., decided February 5, 2010). According to news sources, the company argued that the COOL…