In Re Monsanto Co.

OPINION

VANCE, Justice.

Relators, Monsanto Company and other entities, seek a writ of mandamus requiring Respondent, the Honorable Robert Stem, Judge of the 82nd District Court of Falls County, to vacate an order by which he denied their claims of privilege as to almost 400 documents. The Real Parties in Interest (Plaintiffs) are farmers and farming entities who planted Relators’ genetically-engineered cotton seed during the 1996 growing season. They seek damages for spraying costs and lost yields, alleging that Relators made false claims concerning the insect-resistant nature of the product.…