MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Some black farmers from Mississippi and Tennessee are returning to federal court for a hearing on their lawsuit claiming a seed company sold them faulty soybean seeds because of their race.
Stine Seed Co. has denied accusations that a salesman sold thousands of dollars’ worth of defective seeds to the farmers because they are black. The farmers allege the seeds were much less productive than expected and the salesman misled them with claims of good yields from soybean plants grown in fertile Mississippi Delta fields.
U.S. District Judge John Fowlkes could rule Thursday on lawsuits to dismiss filed by Stine and salesman Kevin Cooper. They’ve called the allegations irresponsible.
The suit claims the good seeds the farmers thought they had bought from Stine were replaced by inferior seeds before delivery.
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