Monsanto Wins Civil Antitrust Action

NEW YORK - Mar 8/05 - SNS -- Monsanto Company expressed pleasure with yesterday's decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit to refuse to certify an antitrust class action suit levied against Monsanto and other companies over biotechnology seed products sold to U.S. farmers.

The original lawsuit was filed in 1999. In October 2003, the U.S. District Court originally denied the plaintiffs' efforts to certify a class action against Monsanto. Previously, the Court had granted Monsanto summary judgment on all the plaintiffs' claims that Monsanto wrongly introduced biotech crops.

In December 2003, the plaintiffs chose to appeal the District Court ruling that denied the plaintiffs' efforts to certify an antitrust class action against Monsanto.

Today's ruling by the Court of Appeals upholds the earlier decision by the District Court to deny class action status to plaintiffs' antitrust claims. Further, the District Court's decision dismissing the plaintiffs' claim Monsanto wrongfully commercialized biotech crops still stands.