News

Court denies rehearing of dicamba case

The 9^th Circuit appeals court has denied a request to rehear its decision that vacated registrations on three dicamba products.

The makers of Xtendimax, Engenia, and FeXapan wanted a broader appeals court review of the decision.

With the June 3^rd ruling still in place Bayer, BASF and Corteva would have to go to the Supreme Court if they choose to appeal.

Bayer’s statement to Brownfield says they strongly disagree with the court’s June 3 ruling and believe their request for rehearing should have been granted.

BASF says it disagrees with the decision and believes BASF deserves an opportunity to be heard on the merits.

Both companies say they are assessing their options for appeal.

Corteva tells Brownfield the denial by the Ninth Circuit Court does not change its commercial plans or product offerings but says it’s too early to comment on a potential appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Full statements provided to Brownfield Ag News:

Bayer: We strongly disagree with the court’s June 3 ruling. We believe our request for rehearing should have been granted for several reasons, including that the court disregarded the EPA’s expert scientific judgements. Indeed, the EPA conducted an extensive review and considered all relevant science prior to issuing the registration for XtendiMax. We are assessing our options to still address the court’s ruling and set the record straight. Bayer stands fully behind XtendiMax, and we are proud of our role in bringing innovations like XtendiMax forward to help growers safely, successfully, and sustainably protect their crops from weeds. We will continue working with the EPA, growers, academics, and others to provide long-term access to this important tool.

BASF: We are disappointed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied BASF’s request to rehear its June 3, 2020 decision. We disagree with the decision and believe BASF deserves an opportunity to be heard on the merits. We are assessing additional legal options, including a challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court. We remain committed to ensuring growers have access to the safe and effective crop protection solutions they have come to rely on, including Engenia herbicide. BASF continues to pursue EPA re-registration of Engenia for use during the upcoming seasons. We have also submitted a registration application for a new combination product that includes dicamba and other active ingredients for over-the-top use on dicamba tolerant soybeans.

Corteva: Corteva Agriscience filed a petition in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dicamba litigation seeking an en banc rehearing to preserve our rights as a technology provider. We also filed the petition for the rights of growers to access needed crop protection technologies, as well as to preserve the role of the U.S. EPA to administer the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide & Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to grant or cancel crop protection product registrations for the benefit of agriculture and society.  The denial by the Ninth Circuit Court of this action does not change our commercial plans or product offerings.  As communicated in January 2020, we are continuing to accelerate the ramp up of Enlist™ seed and crop protection solutions. The parties in the case retain the right to appeal to the United States Supreme Court. It is too early to comment on that potential action.