Christopher L. Goodman of Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons and David R. Hudson of Reminger have entered appearances for Texas law firm Watts Guerra LLP and its managing members Francisco Guerra and Mikal C. Watts in a pending civil RICO class action. The case, which pertains to GMO corn lawsuits against Syngenta AG, was filed Nov. 28 in Ohio Northern District Court by the Douglas J. Nill PLLC d/b/a Farm Law on behalf of corn growers across the U.S. The suit accuses the defendants and its joint venture partners and conspirators of deceptively soliciting and inducing farmers into signing 40 percent contingent fee retainer contracts to pursue individual lawsuits against Syngenta. According to the suit, farmers allege that they were excluded, without their informed consent, from participating in federal court multidistrict litigation actions against Syngenta, where attorneys' fees are determined by the presiding courts as fiduciaries for the members of the class. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary, is 3:23-cv-02289, Niekamp et al. v. Watts Guerra LLP et al.
Public Interest & Nonprofit
January 15, 2024, 12:11 PM