NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Scotts Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of ScottsMiracle-Gro, announced that a jury in federal district court ruled in its favor in a trial related to antitrust and breach of contract claims brought by AgrEvo Environmental Health.
In 1999, AgrEvo, which subsequently changed its name to Aventis Environmental Health, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York againt Scotts and chemical company Monsanto. The allegations related to Scotts’ 1998 purchase of a consumer herbicide from AgrEvo and Scotts’ later agreement to become Monsanto’s exlcusive sales and marketing agent for its consumer Roundup® business. AgrEvo alleged that Monsanto tried to or did monopolize the non-selective herbicide market and conspired with Scotts to eliminate the herbicide that Scotts had acquired from AgrEvo.
"From the beginning we have known these allegations were completely without merit, and we are extremely gratified the jury affirmed our position," said David Aronowitz, executive vice president and general counsel for Scotts. "While this has been a long and costly process, our strategy to defend Scotts against these claims and not settle this case was clearly the right decision. As the leader in our industry, we are keenly sensitive to antitrust issues. We have always operated our business with an eye toward growth and adherence to the law.”
Aronowitz also noted that the company’s legal team from New York-based Quinn Emanuel did “an outstanding job researching the facts of the case, preparing for trial and delivering our story to the jury.”
Monsanto settled with AgrEvo earlier this year. Terms were not disclosed.