http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050427/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_pesticide_lawsuitWASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that 29 peanut farmers in Texas can proceed with their lawsuit against Dow Agrosciences after the chemical giant's weed killer unexpectedly destroyed their crops.
The ruling reinstates the farmers' claim that Dow essentially failed to warn of possible risks. A lower court had dismissed the claims, reasoning that federal law barred states from imposing labeling requirements on pesticides and herbicides other than those set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
But in an opinion by Justice John Paul Stevens, the court ordered the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to take a second look at the case.
Stevens said Dow's claim that the lawsuit should be barred because it relates to the company's labeling isn't necessarily accurate, since the claims could also involve questions of whether the product, known as Strongarm, or manufacturing were defective.