Corteva has agreed to pay $85 million to settle a major antitrust class action lawsuit brought by more than 100,000 U.S. farmers. According to Reuters, the deal requires judicial approval and covers farmers who purchased Corteva crop protection products containing specific active ingredients since October 2018. The litigation, originally filed in 2022 in a North Carolina federal court, followed separate regulatory claims brought by the Federal Trade Commission and several state attorneys general.
The lawsuit alleged that Corteva and its competitor, Syngenta, utilized distributor loyalty programs to block generic manufacturers from entering the market, keeping pesticide prices artificially high. Plaintiffs' lawyers from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and other firms noted that the $85 million figure represents roughly 10% of the total damages calculated by their financial expert. Plaintiffs told the court that continuing to litigate against Corteva would have required significant additional resources and materially increased the complexity of the case at trial.
Corteva denied all allegations of wrongdoing in the settlement, stating it was pleased to resolve the lawsuit and remains focused on its business and customers. While the agreement removes Corteva from the litigation, the case will proceed against its rival Syngenta, a Chinese-owned seeds and pesticides producer that has also denied any wrongdoing. Counsel for the farmers plan to request an unspecified amount in legal fees from the settlement fund.
