Attorneys’ $503 Million Fee Upheld in $1.5 Billion Syngenta Deal

A $503 million attorneys’ fee award for a $1.5 billion class settlement with Syngenta AG in litigation over genetically modified corn was upheld Tuesday.

Rejecting numerous attorneys’ challenges, the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed the apportionment of the award among groups of lawyers, as well as the fees based on each attorney’s or law firm’s relative contribution to the settlement process and fund.

Farmers—mainly from Kansas, Minnesota, and Illinois—alleged that they were shut out of the Chinese market because Syngenta released GMO corn seeds there before getting regulatory approval, resulting in China closing its markets to ...