Federal judge considers delaying US Maui GMO ban hearings

A federal judge recently said she would consider delaying proceedings for a lawsuit challenging US Maui’s ban on the cultivation of genetically modified organisms because of legislation that could affect the outcome of the case.

U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway had been scheduled to hear arguments on the case’s merits. But she instead asked the parties whether the case might be rendered moot if bills before the state House or Senate were to pass.

The bills would prohibit counties from restricting farming and ranching practices that are allowed by federal or state law.

The lawsuit before Mollway challenges a Maui County law created when voters passed a ballot initiative last year. The law imposes a moratorium on GMO crops until scientific studies are conducted on their safety and benefits.

Mollway said she could hear the merits of the lawsuit shortly after the Legislature adjourns in May if lawmakers don’t pass the legislation, and this would only postpone the case a few months.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs, Monsanto Co. and Agrigentics Inc., a unit of Dow Chemical Co., didn’t object. Plaintiffs’ attorney Margery Bronster said passage of such legislation would make the Maui County law “even more indefensible” than it is currently.