After years of litigation, including a trip to the Court of Appeals and back, and a two-week trial, the Court of Appeals affirmed the jury’s decision in Nationwide Agribusiness v. PGI, et al. to dismiss the claims against all defendants. The lawsuit originated with the tragic death of a Boone County farmer who was overcome by anhydrous ammonia while he was working his fields in the late fall of 2011. The Cooperative which rented/sold the application system and the anhydrous settled with the farmer’s family and its insurer, Nationwide Agribusiness, brought claims for contribution against various component manufacturers of the equipment being used at the time of this incident. After a complicated two-week products liability trial, the jury found in favor of all defendants. The plaintiff appealed to the Court of Appeals which determined that the District Court had handled the very complicated case correctly and affirmed the judgment. The Iowa Supreme Court refused further review, ending the case almost nine years after the farmer’s death. The matter was handled for Defendant PGI International from start to finish by Grefe & Sidney’s Mark Thomas and Henry Harmon.
Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Company, as Subrogee of Farmers Cooperative Company v. PGI International; Cox Manufacturing Company and Squibb-Taylor Inc., 941 N.W.2d 601 (Iowa Ct. App. 2019)