Kohn, Swift & Graf, P.C., Roberts Law Firm, Cohen & Malad, and Preti Flaherty filed an antitrust lawsuit on behalf of farmers against pesticide manufacturers Syngenta, Corteva, BASF, and distributors and retailers Nutrien AG Solutions and Helena Agri-Enterprises on November 17, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

Plaintiffs allege that Syngenta, Corteva, and BASF each developed and implemented programs that provided so-called “loyalty” payments to distributors and retailers, but only if the distributors and retailers limited the amounts of competing manufacturers’ products they would sell. In their complaint, Plaintiffs allege that Syngenta, Corteva, and BASF used the programs to extend their patent monopolies after patent protection had expired and generic competition could enter the market. However, as alleged in the complaint, the programs effectively eliminated the primary point of market entry for generic products—the major pesticides distributors and retailers.

According to the complaint’s allegations, the purpose and effect of the programs was to exclude to a material extent generic competition from the market (generic products are usually less expensive than branded products and their presence in the market has the effect of lowering prices) allowing Syngenta, Corteva, and BASF to artificially maintain high prices for certain pesticides after patent expiration.

See additional details and download a copy of the Complaint on the Crop Protection Products Loyalty Program Antitrust Litigation case page.