Big Ag Gets Ag-Gag Envy, Helps Bring In 'Seed-Preemption' Laws Across The US

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As multiple Techdirt stories attest, farmers do love their "ag-gag" laws, which effectively make it illegal for activists to expose animal abuse in agricultural establishments -- although, strangely, farmers don't phrase it quite like that. Big Ag -- the giant seed and agricultural chemical companies such as Monsanto, Bayer, and DuPont -- seem to have decided they want something similar for seeds. As an article in Mother Jones, originally published by Food and Environment Reporting Network, reports, it looks like they are getting it:

With little notice, more than two dozen state legislatures have passed "seed-preemption laws" designed to block counties and cities from adopting their own rules on the use of seeds, including bans on GMOs. Opponents say that there's nothing more fundamental than a seed, and that now, in many parts of the country, decisions about what can be grown have been taken out of local control and put solely in the hands of the state.

Language in the Texas version of the bill preempts not only local laws that affect seeds but also local laws that deal with "cultivating plants grown from seed. In theory, that could extend to almost anything: what kinds of manure or fertilizer can be used, or whether a county can limit irrigation during a drought, says Judith McGeary, executive director of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance. Along with other activists, her organization was able to force an amendment to the Texas bill guaranteeing the right to impose local water restrictions. Still, the law's wording remains uncomfortably open to interpretation, she says.

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Court Dumps Lawsuit Against Zillow Over Its Inaccurate 'Zestimates'

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Earlier this year, real estate litigator and aggrieved homeowner Barbara Andersen sued Zillow for providing a lower "Zestimate" than she believed her house was worth. She alleged Zillow violated Illinois state law by portraying its estimates as appraisals, even though it lacked the proper licensing to perform appraisals. Andersen sought an injunction blocking Zillow from posting information about her home (even publicly-available information) and offering a "Zestimate" on its selling price.Andersen has just had her case tossed, although she's now representing others in a proposed class action against Zillow. At some point between February and earlier this week, Andersen's case was moved to a federal court and she's now listed on the bottom of court documents (as counsel of record), rather than up top as a plaintiff.The new lead plaintiffs are three Patels disputing Zestimates of their multi-million dollar properties. (This rearranging of plaintiffs and lawyers [and lawyers who were also plaintiffs] is unsettling, especially for those of us who learned what we know of the real estate business via repeated viewings of "Glengarry Glen Ross.")The Patels (and "others similarly situated") aren't happy with Zillow. The Patels (collectively) have multiple properties on the market, all listed at prices considerably higher than Zillow's Zestimates. They claim, as Andersen did, that Zillow violates state law by offering something homebuyers might believe is an appraisal. A variety of interconnected laws results in the Patels attempting to coax a federal court into killing Zillow's estimates. As Eric Goldman summarizes, the Patels have gone down on strikes.

An Illinois putative class action was brought against Zillow over the zestimate on three grounds: (1) the zestimate was an unlicensed appraisal, (2) the house profile and zestimate constituted an intrusion into seclusion, and (3) Zillow’s practices violate state consumer protection laws. Zillow wins on a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss.Unlicensed Appraisal: The applicable licensure statute expressly excludes “the procurement of an automated valuation model.” Furthermore, the law doesn’t support private causes of action.Privacy Invasion. There’s no intrusion when the zestimate is based on public data sources. The plaintiffs also don’t explain how the intrusion is “offensive” or plead the required “anguish and suffering.”Consumer Protection Laws. The court says the zestimates are not false, misleading or confusing

Zillow argues that the First Amendment requires dismissal of all of Plaintiffs’ claims. (R. 18, Mem. Supp. Mot. Dismiss, 3.) Additionally, Zillow contends that First Amendment concerns aside, Plaintiffs fail to plead the required elements of their claims. (Id. at 9.) While Zillow makes persuasive arguments with respect to the First Amendment, the Court need not and should not rule on them conclusively because Plaintiffs’ claims fail under Illinois statutory law.

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