KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) – Bayer AG has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by Texas rice growers over claims the company’s experimental biotech rice contaminated the U.S. supply four years ago and decimated exports.
Bayer said it has agreed to pay $290,000 tosettlethecasewitheightplaintiffsfrom three farming operations.
The company still faces thousands of claims, and Adam Levitt, lawyer for some rice farmers said the settlement marked a key victory because it was the first time Bayer had agreed out of court to pay damages to rice farmers arising from the contamination.
Bayer said it continued to participate in mediation talks with other plaintiffs in ongoing litigation.
Bayer has been struggling to defend itself against claims from U.S. farmers after its GM rice showed up in the food supply chain in August 2006.
