Butler Market Gardens v. Burrell Reference : VSC 768 Complaint date : No description Status : Final judgment Place of jurisdiction : Australia, Melbourne Plaintiffs types : Farmers Plaintiffs names : Butler Market Gardens Pty Ltd Defendants : GG & PM Burrell Pty Ltd Lawyers for Health and Environmental Justice : DA Klempfner, JR Anthony-Shaw Case nature : Civil court Type(s), Product(s), Active substance(s) : Herbicide, SpraySeed, Valor Requests : Damages for negligence and nuisance due to the drift of a pesticide spray organized by Burrell on Butler Market Gardens' spring onion crop. Name of the Court : Supreme Court of Victoria of Melbourne, Australia Jurisdiction level : Decision date : December 10, 2018 Decision nature : Positive Decision content : Burrell is ordered to pay Butler Market Gardens damages in the amount of AU$1,346,570. Legal basis : Court Ruling : Link to the ruling Summary : An onion farmer blames his neighbor, an alfalfa farmer, for substantial loss of his crop due to the off-label use of two herbicides, SpaySeed and Valor, at vastly excessive rates. Butler Market Gardens (BMG) leased land from Burrell in July and August 2014 to grow spring onions. In July 2014, Burrell hired a contractor to spray the adjacent land. All of the onion crops were then damaged and most were not marketable anymore. Since BMG was able to provide clear evidence of the condition of the crop just prior to the spray drift event, that he called in an agricultural expert after the event, that the use of the chemicals was contrary to the manufacturer's recommendations, and that the proper permits (which could have authorized non-compliant use) had not been obtained, that Burrell's instructions to the contractor were inadequate and there was a lack of supervision, that no precautions were taken to account for wind, including stopping the spraying during the windiest times of the day, Burrell's negligence and nuisance are established. The Supreme Court of the State of Victoria ordered Burrell to pay damages of AUS $1,346,570. Scientific references : No scientifice reference for this case. Related links : Are you catching my drift? The Supreme Court of Victoria looks at nuisance and negligence in an agricultural spray drift claim