Ristine v. Geigy Agricultural Chemicals

This is an action for damages for the loss of a corn crop. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff in the amount of $1,545. The defendants appeal.

The plaintiff farms near Gothenburg, Nebraska. The defendants manufacture and sell Atrazine, a chemical used for weed control. In 1965, the plaintiff applied Atrazine to part of a 60-acre field of corn. The plaintiff claimed the Atrazine destroyed the corn.

There was evidence from which the jury could find that Paul Bergman, an agent of the defendants, talked with Marvin Harms, an employee of the Gothenburg Co-op, early in 1965. Bergman told…