The state Supreme Court this morning upheld a $42 million punitive award for farmers who say they suffered losses after genetically altered rice seeds produced by Bayer CropScience contaminated the food supply and hurt their crop prices. The court struck down a punitive damages limit in the Civil Justice Reform Act that the Arkansas Legislature enacted in 2003.
Bayer had appealed the verdict reached last year in Lonoke County Circuit Court. The total award included $5.9 million in actual damages and $42 million in punitive damages. The company said the punitive damages award violated the law and shocked the conscience.
Farmers contended that rice prices fell after federal authorities in 2006 announced that an experimental strain of rice that had not been approved for human consumption was found in the U.S. rice supply.
Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
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