EAST ST. LOUIS — Bayer and other major crop chemical producers, wholesalers and retailers are being sued for allegedly inflating the prices of crop inputs for farmers in violation of anti-trust laws.
Little Omega filed a complaint March 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against Bayer Cropscience LP, Corteva Inc., Cargill Incorporated, BASF Corporation and others, alleging violation of the Sherman Act, fraudulent concealment and other claims.
According to the class action, the defendants are top manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers in the crop input market. Little Omega purchased "crop inputs" that include crop protection chemicals such as fungicides, herbicides and insecticides, for its farming operation from the defendants. The plaintiff alleges the defendants have conspired with one another to restrict "electronic platform's" to compete in the crop inputs market and allow only "authorized retailers" to sell their products. Little Omega further alleges the defendants use "seed relabeling" to repackage seeds "under a new brand name" and then sell those same seeds at new, higher prices.
The plaintiff claims the defendants' restriction of trade and of the electronic crops input sales platforms has resulted in "inflated and unjustifiable" price increases on crop inputs for farmers.
The plaintiffs seek monetary relief, trial by jury and all other proper relief. They are represented by John "Don" Barrett, Katherine Barrett Riley, David McMullan, Jr., and Sterling Starns of The Barrett Law Group. PA and Jonathan Cuneo, Victoria Sims and Blaine Finley of Cuneo Gilbert & Laduca LLP in Washington, DC.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois case number 3:21-CV-00297-GCS