Monsanto loses bid to stop Arkansas ban on farm chemical

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

ENVIRONMENT FEBRUARY 16, 2018 / 6:22 PM / UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO

Monsanto loses bid to stop Arkansas ban on farm chemical

Tom Polansek
3 MIN READ

CHICAGO (Reuters) - An Arkansas judge on Friday dismissed a Monsanto Co lawsuit aiming to stop Arkansas from blocking the use of a controversial farm chemical the company makes, dealing a blow to its attempts to increase sales of genetically engineered seeds.

Monsanto, which is being acquired by Bayer AG, filed the lawsuit last year in a bid to halt the state’s ban on sprayings of the weed killer known as dicamba from the period spanning April 16 to Oct. 31.

Growers across the U.S. farm belt said last summer that dicamba drifted away from where it was sprayed, damaging millions of acres of crops that could not tolerate the herbicides.

St. Louis-based Monsanto, the biggest U.S. seed company, said it was disappointed with the judge’s decision and would consider additional legal action.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-pesticides-monsanto/monsanto-loses-bid-to-stop-arkansas-ban-on-farm-chemical-idUSKCN1G02KW

[KT2000]

1. Good news!

now if we could get it off the roadsides in Washington state.

[CentralMass]

2. They are clearly science haters ;-) where are the peer reviewed studies, etc..

[sinkingfeeling]

3. Great news. They will appeal.

[The Blue Flower]

4. This is huge

I hope it sets a global precedent.

[WhiteTara]

5. WooHoo WooHoo

This is 3 for 3!
First a giant unneeded power line was to cut through the heart of the Ozark Mountains and that was stopped, then the CAFO hog farm on the Buffalo River was stopped and now this! Of course we are still ruled by republicons and they put up ways to destroy the state daily. But for now WooHoo

[Jim Lane]

6. The basis for this decision seems highly questionable.

The linked article isn't very clear on it. I found a little more information in this AP story:

Piazza cited a state Supreme Court ruling last month that said the state Legislature can't waive Arkansas' immunity from lawsuits. That ruling has prompted lawyers and judges around to the state to say it amounts to a blanket protection for the state from a wide range of legal challenges.

"It's obvious that Arkansas is going to have to come up with a constitutional amendment to change this to make it where we can operate again as a court should," Piazza said. "I really think the (state Supreme Court case) prevents us from hearing this case at this moment."

That story also says something about Monsanto's argument:

Among other arguments, Monsanto claimed that the state did not consider the economic impact of the ban. The company also challenged the makeup of the 18-member [state Plant Board], arguing a state law that gives private groups such as the state Seed Growers Association power to appoint members violates Arkansas' constitution.

That first argument seems to me to be bogus. Generally, state legislation can't be overturned just because somebody thinks the legislators made a mistake. The second point, however, seems to be at least colorable. I have no idea what the Arkansas constitution says, but a court should be able to hear and adjudicate an allegation that the state government has acted in violation of the constitution. Such claims should be cognizable even if advanced by despicable litigants on behalf of villainous goals.