Monsanto in Canada: Percy Schmeiser stands up to -- and takes down -- Monsanto

Percy Schmeiser stands up to -- and takes down -- Monsanto

Isn't it nice when every now and then David beats Goliath?

13 years ago Monsanto claimed it found its canola growing on Schmeiser's 1,030 acre farm. Though he had never puchased the seeds and had grown canola for 50 years, and planted seed he had saved from his own crops, Monsanto didn't care. They said somehow their genetically modified (GM) product had found its way onto his fields, and Schmeiser owed them money.

Schmeiser lost at trial and on appeal and was ordered to pay nearly $20,000 in damages and $150,000 for Monsanto’s legal fees. But the Canadian Supreme Court didn't see it that way. They ruled for Schmeiser and that he owed Monsanto nothing.

But they required farmers to sign a release that included an agreement never to discuss the terms under which the cleanup was done. Schmeiser refused to be gagged by the release as a condition of getting Monsanto's GM canola off his land.

So Schmeiser sued.

On the eve of trial, the parties agreed to settle. Monsanto paid the cleanup costs and Schmeiser signed a release—without the nondisclosure clause.