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This excerpt taken from the SYT 20-F filed Feb 18, 2009. Holiday Shores The Holiday
Shores Sanitary District in Madison County, Illinois filed a class action
complaint against Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. in July 2004 purportedly on
behalf of a class consisting of all Illinois Public Water Districts, Water
Service Districts and Water Authorities who have, allegedly, suffered
contamination of their water sources at any measurable level on account of the
product Atrazine, a herbicide manufactured since the late 1950s by Syngenta Crop
Protection, Inc. and its predecessors in interest, Novartis Crop Protection,
Inc., Ciba-Geigy and Geigy Chemical Corporation. The Holiday Shores Complaint
alleges that the product Atrazine and/or its degradent chemicals are harmful to
humans as consumed through dietary water, and that run-off from the soil where
Atrazine has been applied has damaged the water district’s property and
contaminated its surface waters, used as a source of drinking water for the
district. It alleges claims of trespass, nuisance, negligence, strict liability
and violation of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act and seeks monetary
damages, including the cost of purchase, installation, maintenance and operation
of charcoal filtration systems, alleged diminution in property value and
remediation, punitive damages and attorneys’ fees. The complaint was served on
Syngenta on August 27, 2004. Syngenta succeeded in having the lawsuit removed
from state to federal court but, on Plaintiffs Motion, the federal court on
March 28, 2005, remanded the lawsuit back to state court. Syngenta has filed a
Motion to Dismiss which was argued on October 25, 2005, and on July 7, 2008 was
denied by the court. A case management conference has yet to be scheduled. On
September 30, 2008, a related lawsuit (Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. v INA, et
al.) was filed by Syngenta in the Superior Court of the State of New Jersey
seeking a declaratory judgment under the Ciba-Geigy legacy insurance policies
that the potential damages in the Holiday Shores case are covered under the
legacy policies and that the insurers are obligated to indemnify and defend
Syngenta.
This excerpt taken from the SYT 20-F filed Mar 1, 2006. Holiday Shores The Holiday Shores Sanitary District in Madison County, Illinois filed a class action complaint against Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. in July 2004
purportedly on behalf of a class consisting of all Illinois Public Water Districts, Water Service Districts and Water Authorities who have, allegedly, suffered contamination of their water sources at any measurable level on account of the product
Atrazine, a herbicide manufactured since the late 1950s by Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. and its predecessors in interest, Novartis Crop Protection, Inc., Ciba-Geigy and Geigy Chemical Corporation. The Holiday Shores Complaint alleges that the
product Atrazine and/or its degradent chemicals are harmful to humans as consumed through dietary water, and that run-off from the soil where Atrazine has been applied has damaged the water district’s property and
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contaminated its surface waters, used as a source of drinking water for the district. It alleges claims of trespass, nuisance, negligence, strict liability and violation of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act and seeks monetary damages, including the cost of purchase, installation, maintenance and operation of charcoal filtration systems, alleged diminution in property value and remediation, punitive damages and attorneys’ fees. Syngenta intends to defend the Holiday Shores action vigorously. Atrazine is a long-standing successful product of Syngenta and its predecessors, which has been repeatedly scrutinized for safety over the years by governmental agencies. Following lengthy consideration of challenges to Atrazine as a carcinogen, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has determined that Atrazine is not a likely human carcinogen. In fact, EPA reclassified Atrazine in 2000 from a “probably human carcinogen” to “not a likely human carcinogen.” The latter classification remains the current EPA classification of Atrazine. Complaint was served on Syngenta August 27, 2004. Syngenta succeeded in having the lawsuit removed from State to federal court but, on Plaintiffs’ Motion, federal court on March 28, 2005 remanded the lawsuit back to the State court. Syngenta has filed a Motion to Dismiss which was argued on October 25, 2005. The Court’s decision is awaited. The case management hearing has been adjourned until after the Court’s decision on the Motion to Dismiss. Should the case not be dismissed, a class certification hearing is anticipated later in 2006 and a trial in 2007.
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