Media Coverage: Class Action Filed Against Bayer for Alleged Monopolization of U.S. GMO Corn Seed Market
Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP recently filed a proposed class action lawsuit on behalf of Latham Quality, Inc., a family-owned independent seed company based in Iowa, against Bayer AG and its affiliates, including Bayer CropScience LLC, Channel Bio LLC, and Monsanto Co.
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleges that Bayer engaged in illegal, anti-competitive practices to monopolize the U.S. market for genetically engineered corn seeds containing the NK603 trait, which confers resistance to the herbicide glyphosate. The complaint further alleges that Bayer reached an agreement with competitor Corteva Agriscience to delay generic NK603 competition even after Bayer’s patent on the trait expired in 2022, and that Bayer used restrictive licensing contracts, loyalty programs, and customer data-sharing tactics to maintain its monopoly power in violation of the Sherman, Clayton, and Robinson-Patman Acts and Missouri state law. The lawsuit seeks treble damages and injunctive relief on behalf of independent seed companies and corn and soybean growers harmed across the United States.
The filing comes amid broader scrutiny of the seed industry: the U.S. Department of Justice opened an antitrust investigation into the corn and soybean market and, days before the complaint was unsealed, announced that Bayer had agreed to remove anticompetitive provisions from its seed distributor loyalty program.
The lawsuit was covered by media outlets including:
- Ad Hoc News, “Bayer Faces New Antitrust Headwinds in US Corn Seed Market as Pharma Pipeline Shows Quiet Progress”
- Bloomberg Law, “Bayer Accused of Illegal Monopolization of Corn Seed Input”
- The Capitol Forum, “Bayer: Agriculture Giant Monopolized Corn Seed Market, Independent Seed Company Charges in Lawsuit”
- Reuters, “Bayer sued for allegedly monopolizing US market for GMO corn seeds”
