10 states and the FTC v. Syngenta and Corteva

Reference :

1:22-cv-00828

Complaint date :

September 29, 2022

Status :

Not judged

Place of jurisdiction :

United States, North Carolina

Plaintiffs types :

Local authorities, Government or State Assessment Agencies

Plaintiffs names :

Federal Trade Commission (FTC), California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, Texas, Wisconsin,

Defendants :

Syngenta, Corteva

Lawyers for Health and Environmental Justice :

No description

Case nature :

Civil court

Type(s), Product(s), Active substance(s) :

Fungicide, , Herbicide, Nematicide, Azoxystrobin, Mesotrione, Metolachlor, Rimsulfuron, Oxamyl, Acetochlor

Requests :

Final judgment against Defendants, declaring, ordering, and adjudging: That each Defendant’s conduct violates Section 5(a) of the FTC Act… Section 3 of the Clayton Act…Section 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act… applicable law of the 10 plaintiffs States. That each Defendant is permanently enjoined from engaging in its unlawful conduct. That each Defendant is permanently enjoined from engaging in similar and related conduct in the future as to all crop-protection products and active ingredients…

Name of the Court :

District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, United States

Jurisdiction level :

Summary :

FTC and 10 US States sue Syngenta and Corteva for using illegal pay-to-block scheme to inflate prices for farmers. The complaint alleges that manufacturers pay distributors to exclude competitors’ more affordable generic options for essential farming products. It claims that these big pesticide firms run so-called “loyalty programs” in which distributors only get paid if they limit business with competing manufacturers. Under this scheme, Syngenta and Corteva make more money than they would if they had to compete fairly with generics. Syngenta has monopoly and market power in the United States with respect to azoxystrobin fungicide; and mesotrione and metolachlor herbicides and Corteva to the herbicide rimsulfuron, the insecticide and nematicide oxamyl and the herbicide acetochlor. The complaint seeks to shut down this illegal pay-to-block scheme and restore competition to affected markets.

Scientific references :

No scientifice reference for this case.