Judge Upholds Award Against Monsanto

In a closely watched case involving seed biotech, a San Diego Superior Court judge upheld a $175-million damage award against Monsanto Co. The decision was in favor of Mycogen Corp., a San Diego-based agribusiness and biotech company that develops and markets seeds and traits for genetically enhanced crops. In 1993, Mycogen sued St. Louis-based Monsanto, alleging that its larger rival failed to honor a contract granting Mycogen access to insect-resistance technology for corn and herbicide-tolerance technology for corn, cotton and canola--technologies for which Mycogen holds license options. During the trial, Superior Court Judge Herbert B. Hoffman ruled that Monsanto had breached the agreement. On March 20, a jury awarded the damages for projected lost profit and market share for Mycogen’s seeds business. Mycogen is mostly owned by Dow AgroSciences, a Dow Chemical Co. subsidiary. Mycogen shares rose 38 cents to close at $24.06 on Nasdaq.