Genetically Modified Rice Litigation

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Settlement Notice

A settlement has been reached on behalf of rice farmers and landlords in In re: Genetically Modified Rice Litigation, Case No. 4:06 MD 1811-CDP (Eastern District of Missouri). The settlement is complex. If you are a rice producer or a landlord, your legal rights may be affected by this settlement. You should speak with your own legal counsel about the settlement. If you do not have legal counsel, you should consider seeking your own legal counsel to discuss these important issues and to answer any questions you may have about the settlement.

For more information, or to review the settlement documents, please go to http://gmricesettlement.com, or call the settlement administrator at (866) 673-5705.

Background

This multidistrict litigation includes approximately 300 cases filed by rice farmers and others involved in the rice business. Plaintiffs include farmers from the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas. The cases arise from the 2006 discovery that trace amounts of LLRICE 601, a genetically modified rice strain, had been detected in the U.S. rice supply. LLRICE 601 is a rice seed developed by Bayer CropScience, which is resistant to a Bayer herbicide, Liberty Link. Although LLRICE 601 is now deregulated by the USDA, at the time of the contamination it was not approved for human consumption. Plaintiffs seek to recover damages for market losses and expenses they claim to have incurred because of the contamination.

Procedural History

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated the cases in December of 2006 doc 1. After a substantial number of cases were transferred to the Eastern District of Missouri, the Court began holding conferences with counsel and appointed leadership counsel 182. The producer plaintiffs (rice farmers) filed a consolidated class action complaint in May of 2007 264 . The parties spent several months conducting discovery related to class certification and related to the question whether the foreign defendants could be sued here. On June 27, 2008 the Court denied the foreign defendants’ motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction 733 . On August 14, 2008, the court denied the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification 781. Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint 1010 in January of 2009.

The parties are now conducting discovery in selected cases, as set forth in various Case Management Orders.

The court is conducting a series of bellwether trials. Three bellwether trials have been completed, involving claims of several Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana farmers. The next farmer bellwether trial is scheduled for October of 2010, and will involve claims of several Texas farmers. A bellwether trial involving claims of a non-producer, Riviana, was scheduled for April but settled before trial.

There are related state-court cases that are not being handled by this Court. Three have gone to trial in different Arkansas state courts.

Orders

This page contains the Case Management Orders and selected procedural and substantive orders. It is not a complete inventory of decisions, and these electronic versions are not official documents of record. The official records are those contained in the Clerk’s official Docket.

Contacts

Clerk's Office

United States District Court
Eastern District of Missouri
111 South 10th Street, Suite 3.300
St. Louis, MO 63102
(314)244-7900

Case Management Team 

Melanie Berg (314) 244-7931 (team leader)
Brittany Porter (314) 244-7930

Chambers of U.S. District Judge Catherine D. Perry

Courtroom 14-South

111 South 10th Street
Suite 14.182
St. Louis, MO 63102
(314)244-7520

Judicial Assisant: Brian Crow
Court reporter: Teri Hopwood (314)244-7988

Special Master for Settlement:

Stephen N. Limbaugh, Sr.,
Armstrong Teasdale LLP
7700 Forsyth Blvd., Suite 1800
St. Louis, MO 63105
(314)259-4705
 

Lead Counsel for the Plaintiffs:

Don M. Downing
GRAY AND RITTER, P.C.
701 Market Street, Suite 800
St. Louis, MO 63101-1826
(314)241-5620
 

Adam J. Levitt
WOLF HALDENSTEIN ADLER FREEMAN & HERZ LLC
55 W. Monroe Street, Suite 1111
Chicago, IL 60603
(312)984-0000

Lead Counsel for the Defendants:

Terry R. Lueckenhoff
FOX GALVIN, LLC
One S. Memorial Drive, 12th Floor
St. Louis, MO 63102
(314)588-7000

Eric R. Olson
BARTLIT AND BECK, LLP
1899 Wynkoop Street, Eighth Floor
Denver, CO 80202
(303)592-3100

Plaintiffs' Executive Committee:
 

Scott E. Poynter
EMERSON POYNTER LLP
The Museum Center
500 President Clinton Avenue, Suite 305
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501)907-2555

Richard J. Arsenault
NEBLETT AND BEARD
P.O. Box 1190
Alexandria, LA 71309-1190
(318)487-9874

Stephen A. Weiss
SEEGER WEISS LLP
One William Street
New York, NY 10004-2502
(212)584-0700

Joe Whatley, Jr.
WHATLEY AND DRAKE
1540 Broadway, 37th Floor
New York, NY 10036
(212)447-7070

William B. Chaney
LOOPER AND REED
1601 Elm Street, Suite 4100
Dallas, TX 75201
(214)954-4135

Ralph E. Chapman
CHAPMAN AND LEWIS
501 First Street
PO Box 428
Clarksdale, MS 38614
(662)627-4105

Liaison Counsel for Non-Bayer Defendants:
 

Christopher Hohn
THOMPSON COBURN
One US Bank Plaza, Suite 26
St. Louis, MO, 63101

Liaison Counsel for European Non-Producer Plaintiffs:
 

John K. Baker
MITCHELL AND WILLIAMS
425 West Capitol Ave., Suite 1800
Little Rock, AR, 72201
(501)688-8800

Liaison Counsel for other Non-Producer Plaintiffs:
 

William B. Chaney
LOOPER AND REED
1601 Elm Street, Suite 4100
Dallas, TX 75201
(214)954-4135

Hearings and Conferences

This calendar provides only the upcoming hearings and status conferences. It does not include other case management deadlines. For most hearings and status conferences, a call-in number is established (and sent out approximately one week before the hearing or conference) to allow telephone participation.

• Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 12:30 p.m., telephone status conference with lead counsel (plaintiffs will initiate this conference)
• Thursday, March 15, 2012 at 10:00 a.m., status conference and final pretrial hearing for Gulf Pacific Rice Co., Inc., et al. v. Bayer CropScience LP, et al.
• Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 10:00 a.m., status conference and final pretrial hearing for Beaumont Rice Mills, Inc., et al. v. Bayer CropScience LP, et al.
• Thursday, July 5, 2012 at 10:00 a.m., status conference and final pretrial hearing for Kennedy Rice Dryers, LLC v. Bayer CropScience LP, et al. and Planters Rice Mill, LLC v. Bayer CropScience LP, et al.
• Thursday, September 6, 2012 at 10:00 a.m., status conference and final pretrial hearing for Texana Rice Mill, Ltd., et al. v. Bayer CropScience LP, et al.
• Thursday, November 29, 2012 at 12:30 p.m., telephone status conference with lead counsel (plaintiffs will initiate this conference).
• Thursday, February 28, 2013 at 10:00 a.m., status conference and final pretrial hearing for Phoenix Advisors, Ltd. v. Bayer CropScience LP, et al.
   

Filing Tips

Revised May 2009 – Please Review New Requirements

The Orders in this case set the rules for filing matters in this case. The Local Rules apply unless changed by a specific order. The following tips are meant to assist counsel, but are not a complete summary of the rules for filing. Please read all Case Management and Procedural Orders carefully.

• Please note that as of May 21, 2009 docket #1321 the filing rules for this case have changed as follows:
  

  For all cases, all documents filed with the court are to be filed in the main 4:06MD1811 case. In addition, pleadings (as defined in Rule 7(a), Fed. R. Civ. P.) and any motions or other documents directed to pleadings – for example, motions to dismiss, motions to remand, motions to amend, motions for summary judgment, or any briefs or exhibits related or responding to such motions – are to be filed in both the main 4:06MD1811 case and the individual civil case(s) to which the filing relates. Other items – such as documents relating to discovery or scheduling issues – are not to be filed in the individual civil cases.

• Notice of Depositions are filed only in the main MDL case and no other discovery documents shall be filed.
• The Clerk’s office has provided instructions for service of process of foreign defendants. Please follow these instructions and if you need further assistance, call the Clerk’s office.
• All counsel and all parties are listed in the main MDL case, so all counsel will get notices of anything filed in that case. If things are filed only in an individual case, only counsel who appear on the docket sheet of that case will receive notices. The court does not send mail notices, so only counsel who have provided an electronic entry of appearance and email address receive notices.
• The CM/ECF system provides an option for “spreading” entries. It defaults to the “no” position. If you change this to “yes”, your document will be filed in all 277 cases and all counsel of record will receive 277 emails notifying them of your filing. Please do not do this unless instructed by the court.

Reports of Counsel