March 9, 2005
Washington, DC - (March 9, 2005) - The international law firm of McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP succeeded, on behalf of its client Monsanto Company, in defeating efforts to certify antitrust classes in a case against the Company and three others concerning genetically enhanced seeds sold to U.S. farmers. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's decision in McIntosh, et al. v. Monsanto, et al. that the Plaintiffs did not demonstrate that class-wide injury could be shown with proof common to the class.
"The seed business is highly localized, such that to prove antitrust injury, each plaintiff would have to present his or her own evidence that would vary according to individualized market conditions, and plaintiffs therefore could not rely upon evidence that was common to the proposed class," said attorney Philip D. Bartz of McKenna Long & Aldridge, one of the lead attorneys representing Monsanto. "This is an important victory for Monsanto, and it adds to a growing body of law that more rigorously holds plaintiffs to the requirements for certification in antitrust cases."
The district court's denial of class certification with respect to the antitrust classes followed its grant of summary judgment dismissing Plaintiffs' tort claims that alleged Monsanto had wrongfully introduced biotech crops into the marketplace. The Eighth Circuit's decision does not disturb that ruling.
Other attorneys who worked on the case were Cameron Cohick, Donna M. Donlon and Stephen M. Lastelic from Washington, DC, and Phillip A. Bradley from Atlanta.
About McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP
McKenna Long & Aldridge is a full-service law firm of nearly 350 lawyers and public policy advisors with offices in Atlanta, Brussels, Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington, DC. The firm provides business solutions in the areas of corporate law, government contracts, intellectual property and technology, complex litigation, public policy and regulatory affairs, international law, real estate and finance. To learn more about the firm and its services, log on to www.mckennalong.com.
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