JACKSON, Miss.

The state Court of Appeals has sided with Warren County farmer Newell Simrall in his dispute with Hartz Seed Company over what he called faulty soybean seeds.

In December 1999, Circuit Judge Frank Vollor ruled Hartz' seed was responsible for Simrall's reduction in crop yield for 1997 in the amount of $165,742.

Hartz Seed is a Stuttgart, Ark.-based subsidiary of Monsanto Co. Monsanto, based in St. Louis, developed and publicized its genetically enhanced Roundup ready soybean seeds as top quality, disease resistant, high yielding seeds. The court record showed Simrall bought two varieties of the seeds and planted 800 acres. Simrall claimed the pods on one group of seed were shedding and reported it to Hartz.

Hartz' representatives, according to testimony, told Simrall of the seed's propensity for pod shedding and assured him that the pods would regenerate. However, most of the pods did not regenerate, Simrall claimed.

At trial, Simrall put on his experts who testified both varieties of soybean seeds were infected with a virus.

Experts for Hartz testified the problems could be indicative of other diseases and that other problems were present in the crops that could have contributed to the reduction in yield.

On appeal, Hartz argued Simrall's experts failed to laboratory test its seed and offered nothing other than a visual inspection to reach the conclusion that a virus was present.

Vollor ruled for Simrall. He ruled that Hartz was guilty of a breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, which implies that goods are fit for the purpose for which they are to be used.

Appeals Judge Leslie D. King, writing Tuesday for the court, said Vollor was responsible for determining which experts to believe and the court would not overrule him.

"The mere fact that testimony is disputed does not render it incredible," King wrote.

Monsanto is one of the world's largest agribusiness company and the second-largest seed company in the world. It also manufactures and markets herbicides.

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