Dentons has one of the oldest, largest and most diversified pesticide regulatory and litigation practices in the US and internationally. With lawyers practicing in the industry across the US and Europe, Dentons possesses breadth and depth in worldwide pesticide regulation unexcelled by any firm.

Not only do we fully understand the history behind existing pesticide laws and regulations, but we also have extensive, hands-on experience guiding companies through the complex landscape of current and emerging regulatory and legal issues involving pesticides.

The successful resolution of complex pesticide issues often requires a team of lawyers and regulatory scientists. We founded one of the first pesticide and chemical consulting firms, Technology Sciences Group (TSG), in 1990, and thereafter established its European counterpart, Technology Sciences (Europe) Limited (TSGE), with a combined staff of 30 scientists and regulatory experts, to provide scientific, registration, regulatory and litigation support services in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia.

• We first represented and counseled the pesticide industry in 1940 through our representation of the National Association of Insecticide and Disinfectant Manufacturers, the predecessor to today’s Consumer Specialty Products Association.
• We represented registrants in EPA’s first cancellation hearings (on DDT, heptachlor/chlordane and diazinon); we defended the first wave of RPARs/Special Reviews (on PCNB, lindane, EDB and other active ingredients).
• We participated in the US Supreme Court’s first and only two cases on FIFRA data compensation (Ruckelshaus v. Monsanto Co. and Stauffer Chem. Co. v. PPG Industries).
• We counseled companies on the EU Plant Protection Directive (91/414/EEC) and the EU Biocidal Products Directive (98/8/EEC); successfully challenging a member state’s (Denmark) efforts to cancel a pesticide (esfenvalerate).
• We helped form in 1979 and represent the first pesticide task force, The Industry Task Force on 2,4-D Research Data.
• We represented industry in its first challenge to California’s data requirements in 1980 (National Agricultural Chemicals Association v. Rominger). We successfully defended California’s ownership laws and letter of authorization process on behalf of pesticide data submitters (Chemical Producers and Distributors Association v. Helliker). We brought suit against California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) to enforce the Data Ownership Laws and Letter of Authorization process (Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. v. Helliker; Dow AgroSciences, LLC v. Helliker).
• We challenged a New York agency’s attempt to use rulemaking to ban high-concentration DEET products.
• We were the first to convince a federal court of appeals that FIFRA preempts failure-to-warn claims (Papas v. Upjohn Co.), represented industry as amici curiae in the first Supreme Court case on FIFRA tort preemption (Bates v. Dow AgroSciences LLC), and are advising the industry on the Bates aftermath.
• Our legacy firm of McKenna Long & Aldridge wrote the first book on pesticide regulation, The Pesticide Regulation Handbook, in 1983 and we conducted the first client seminars on pesticide regulation.

Our unique experience and resources enable us to offer services in the following areas:

Registration and cancellation

We bring science, law and policy together to resolve tough registration and tolerance issues. We have represented numerous registrants in suspension, cancellation and RPAR proceedings, and negotiated cancellation agreements.

Data compensation

For more than 25 years, we have represented data submitters and applicants in data compensation negotiations and arbitrations. With our experience, we will assist you to prepare or to respond to a data compensation claim in order to resolve disputes before they go to arbitration. As well, we have represented many petitioners and respondents in Petition To Cancel or Deny proceedings under 40 CFR § 192.99.

Enforcement

We have significant experience in applying FIFRA’s Enforcement Response Policy to reduce the cost and potential disruption of enforcement proceedings. Together with TSG, we will conduct or assist your company to conduct FIFRA systems and compliance audits (with the benefit of EPA’s Audit Policy) to spot problems before the inspector shows up.

Task forces

For more than 25 years, we have represented many US and EU pesticide task forces in their corporate tax, data compensation and EPA reregistration issues: the 2,4-D Task Force, the MCPA Task Force, the DEET Joint Venture, the ADBAC and Quat Joint Venture, the Pyrethrin Joint Venture, the Spray Drift Task Force and the Non-dietary Exposure Task Force.

Commerce between pesticide companies

We regularly assist companies in negotiating, drafting and resolving disputes under supply contracts. We assist companies in licensing and protecting technology and pesticide data rights worldwide. We assist companies in forming domestic and foreign joint ventures.

Special pesticides

We have counseled and represented companies that make special pesticide products including treated articles, repellents, wood preservatives, plant protectants (GMOs), antimicrobials, aquatic herbicides, seed treatments, pet care products, aerosol products and pesticide devices. Through our representation of CropLife America we know agricultural pesticides. Through our representation of the Consumer Specialty Products Association we know the important issues confronting manufacturers and distributors of household, institutional and industrial pesticides.

Pesticides and the courtroom

We have advised and defended numerous companies in pesticide personal injury, crop damage and environmental contamination cases at the trial and appellate levels throughout the US. This includes more than 100 cases raising FIFRA preemption. We counsel pesticide companies in avoiding failure-to-warn liability and FIFRA preemption strategy in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2005 decision in Bates v. Dow AgroSciences LLC. We counsel companies on the product liability issues surrounding labeling, warranties, advertising and sales promotion, company correspondence and records and customer complaints.