Syngenta GMO Corn Lawyers

How Syngenta GMO has impacted your corn prices 1

1. What Syngenta Did To Wreck U.S. Corn Prices

2. The Billions of Dollars of Damages It Caused

3. The Litigation That Has Resulted

4. The Lawyers

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)2

1. What Syngenta Did To Wreck U.S. Corn Prices

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In 2009, Syngenta released a genetically engineered corn trait, MIR162, into the U.S. market. Its first generation of MIR162 corn was known as “Agrisure Viptera” (“Viptera”).

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Agrisure varieties have been genetically engineered to protect corn against damage from insects such as the corn borer and corn rootworm.

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(Reuters) Syngenta sued Bunge North America in

August 2011 for product disparagement when Bunge began refusing to buy or store Vipteracorn because it was not approved for import to China.

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4/18/2012-Earnings Call: “On the import approval, it has import approval

in all of the major markets. There isn't outstanding approval for China, which we expect to have quite frankly within the matter of a couple of days. That remains on track for approval to the very best of our ability. Of course, the regulatory authorities are not something that we can handicap definitively, but we know of no issue with that whatsoever…..”

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1. What Syngenta Did To Wreck U.S. Corn Prices

2. The Billions of Dollars of Damages It Caused

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China destroys multiple shipments of GM corn from US Monday, June 10, 2013 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

(NaturalNews) Several large shipments of genetically-modified (GM) corn and corn seeds originating from the U.S. have been destroyed by the Chinese government after being discovered by import officials at numerous locations across the country. At least three shipments of GM corn detected at the Wanzai Port in Zhuhai City near Macau were reportedly destroyed after being successfully intercepted by government officials, while another 21 cartons of GM corn seeds weighing more than 250 pounds were destroyed in the northern Chinese city of Harbin.

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BEIJING/CHICAGO, Nov 19, 2013 (Reuters) - China, one of the world's largest corn importers, has rejected a cargo of the grain from the United States as it contained a genetically modified variety that has not been approved by Beijing, traders said.

The discovery of Syngenta AG's Agrisure Viptera corn in the shipment dragged on global prices and unnerved some Chinese buyers as it raised the spectre of other rejections.

But most traders said these were unlikely and that the move would not have much long-term impact on flows of grain to China from the U.S. They said the strain, also known as MIR 162, is set to be approved by China soon and is already shipped to destinations such as top corn importer Japan, the European Union and Mexico.

"It's confirmed. It's one cargo and MIR 162 was the problem," said one source, who asked not to be identified.

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December 20, 2013 (Wall Street Journal) BEIJING—China has blocked an unprecedented amount of

U.S. corn imports this year for violating its ban on certain types of genetically modified food, illustrating the difficulty big biotechnology companies face in tapping the country's potentially vast market.

China's quality watchdog said Friday that it has repatriated 545,000 metric tons of U.S. corn so far this year in cargoes that contained MIR162, an insect-resistant strain of the grain that is permitted in the U.S., Japan and Europe but not approved by China's agriculture ministry.

China's agriculture ministry said it is still evaluating MIR162.

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(Reuters) April 16, 2014

“Since mid-November, China has turned away 1.45 million metric tons of U.S. corn because of the presence of MIR 162.”

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The second generation of Syngenta’s MIR162 corn, “Agrisure Duracade” (“Duracade”), was scheduled for release and distribution for planting in 2014.

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HistoricalCornPrices

Price

First GM Corn Product Destroyed near Macau

China Begins Turning Around Ships Full of U.S. Corn

Agricultural Press Reveals Over 3.3 million tons of corn rejected

Rumors of China’s imminent approval send corn futures up

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1. What Syngenta Did To Wreck U.S. Corn Prices

2. The Billions of Dollars of Damages It Caused

3. The Litigation That Has Resulted

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September 12, 2014-Cargill has filed a lawsuit against Syngenta Seeds, Inc. accusing it of commercializing a GMO trait (MIR 162) corn seed not yet approved for importation into China. Cargill claims it is losing millions of dollars as a result of China refusing to take U.S. corn with the Syngenta trait. Let's look at the complaints filed in court, rather than the dueling press release stories. Cargill accuses Syngenta of not practicing "responsible stewardship" in commercializing a GMO event before receiving approval from China to export the corn. China, since November, 2013, has been rejecting imports of U.S. corn due to the presence of Syngenta's trait. According to Cargill, U.S. exporters and farmers have lost or may lose $2.9 billion.

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Corn farmers filed several class action lawsuits Oct. 3, 2014 against Syngenta Corporation in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska federal courts. The lawsuits allege that U.S. corn farmers have been damaged by Syngenta'spremature release of genetically engineered MIR 162 corn seed, also known as Agrisure Viptera, into the U.S. market before the seed received import approval from China, a key export market.

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Bloomberg, November 19, 2014- “Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM), the world’s largest

corn processor, sued Syngenta AG (SYNN) after China rejected its shipments of corn and products made from the grain because of a genetic modification. ADM is alleging that Basel, Switzerland-based Syngenta sold corn seed with traits not approved in all major export markets and didn’t take “reasonable stewardship practices” to stop the resulting crop from commingling or tainting the rest of the U.S. corn supply, the Chicago-based company said in a statement today. “ADM believes Syngenta’s actions were irresponsible and is seeking monetary damages,” Jackie Anderson, an ADM spokesman, said in the e-mailed statement.”

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1. East St. Louis, Illinois

2. St. Louis, Missouri

4. Kansas City, Kansas

3. Des Moines, Iowa

5. Minneapolis, Minnesota

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1. What Syngenta Did To Wreck U.S. Corn Prices

2. The Billions of Dollars of Damages It Caused

3. The Litigation That Has Resulted

4. The Lawyers

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- B.A. U.T. (1987 w/highest honors); J.D. U.T. (1989 w/honors at age 21)

- Briefing Attorney, Hon. Tom Phillips, Chief Justice, Texas Supreme Court, 1989-1990

- Capital Partner, Watts Guerra, LLP –Texas

- National Law Journal – “one of the best trial lawyers in the country.”- U.S. Today – Watts “has soared to the top of the highly-competitive…law business.”

- Martindale-Hubbell “AV” Rated; Board Certified; American Inns of Court, American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)- National Law Journal - Named one of top 15 Go-To Law Firms in the U.S. - 3 out of 4 years

- Wall Street Journal, “a rising star of the Plaintiffs’ bar.”- Texas Lawyer, December 2012, named one of the three top Go-To PI Lawyers in Texas

-Named Trial Counsel in multiple MDLs; Co-Lead Counsel, SNS & Pradaxa MDLs

4. The Lawyers

-Negotiated the GMO Rice state court litigation (entire case settled for $750 million)

-Obtained More than $1 billion in jury verdicts; obtained the first plaintiff’s verdict in the country in numerous national litigations; significant cases chronicled in the book Tragic Indifference.

Mikal Watts

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BLOOMBERG

Bayer Agrees to Pay $750 Million to End Lawsuits Over Gene-Modified Rice

By Andrew Harris and David Beasley - Jul 2, 2011 A Bayer AG (BAYN) unit agreed to a $750 million

settlement resolving claims with about 11,000 U.S. farmers who said a strain of the company’s genetically modified rice tainted crops and ruined their export value.

The settlement, announced yesterday, ends scores of lawsuits filed against the Bayer CropScience unit of the Leverkusen, Germany-based company by farmers in Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi.

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1. What Syngenta Did To Wreck U.S. Corn Prices

2. The Billions of Dollars of Damages It Caused

3. The Litigation That Has Resulted

4. The Lawyers

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)55

1. What is the Fee?

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3. CONTINGENT FEE ARRANGEMENT. The firms will assume joint responsibility for Client’s representation. In consideration of such legal services, Client hereby assigns and grants the following percentage of any monies, interest or property recovered: FORTY PERCENT (40%).

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1. What is the Fee?

2. Who Pays the Expenses?

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Expenses paid by the Firms. The firms agree to advance any and all reasonable expenses associated with the prosecution of client’s claim. The Firms will pay the expenses advanced, unless ordered otherwise by a Court of Law. Client agrees that only the common case expenses ordered by a court of Law are reimbursable to The Firms.

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1. What is the Fee?

2. Who Pays the Expenses?

3. How Much of My Time Will this Take?

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Time to Decide Whether to Participate Sign a One-Page Contract Fill out a Brief Questionnaire Provide FSA forms showing production and

price of corn sold from 2012-present Fill out a Court-Ordered Plaintiff Fact Sheet Less than 1% of the farmers are likely to ever

be deposed, though Syngenta may depose all Historically, less than 10 farmers nationwide

will have to participate in a bellwether trial.

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1. What is the Fee?

2. Who Pays the Expenses?

3. How Much of My Time Will this Take?

4. How Long Will this Take?

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Depends on the MDL Judge handling the case

These cases usually settle after statutes of limitations have passed

Depends on how long it takes to rule on class certification

Rice took several years

Pradaxa took less than two years63

1. What is the Fee?

2. Who Pays the Expenses?

3. How Much of My Time Will this Take?

4. How Long Will this Take?

5. How Much Will I Get? 64

NGFA estimates damage of at least $0.11/bushel

In Fact, the Price Dropped Over $1 per bushel

Damages Must Be Risked Risk of Preemption Ruling

Risk of Economic Loss Rule

Risk of Losing the Case at Trial

Mass Action case Will Not Be Settled without Your Decision to “Opt-In” to the proposed settlement; class actions carry different risks.

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Mikal C. WattsWATTS GUERRA, LLP

Four Dominion Drive, Bldg. Three, Suite 100San Antonio, Texas 78257

Phone: (21) 447-0500Fax: (210) 447-0501

Email: [email protected]: www.cornsuits.com

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How Syngenta GMO has impacted your corn prices 75

Thank you for comingI’d now be happy to answer

any of your questions.