San Jose, Calif.-California’s Sixth Appellate District Court has upheld the right of an herb farmer to sue an applicator for pesticides applied near his farm that vaporized and landed on his dill crop. The 32-page ruling filed Dec. 20 affirmed a Superior Court ruling and jury verdict in Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo vs. Western Farm Service supporting the farmer’s rights to sue over inadequate measures taken to prevent the drift of organophosphate pesticides sprayed at a neighboring farm. Western Farm Service, which is now a part of Colorado-based Crop Production Services (CPS), a unit of Agrium Inc., argued that since the company had not run afoul of state law, Jacobs Farm did not have the right to sue. Agrium said it is disappointed by the decision and will review its options.”This was a fair decision that clarified the laws concerning applying pesticides in important ways. The decision confirmed the right of people injured or damaged by pesticide application, whether during spraying or afterwards, to seek remedies in the courts,” said attorney Joel Franklin, who represented Jacobs Farm in the appeal. Agriculture sources said the decision is significant because it strengthens the case for farmers harmed by pesticides to seek legal recourse even if the pesticides are legally applied.
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