Importer Drops Legal Challenge of Rejected Corn Shipment, Will Meet With APHIS Instead

An importer will drop its court challenge of an Emergency Action Notification blocking its shipment of corn at the Port of San Francisco, after reaching an agreement with the government to settle the case. In return for voluntarily dismissing its lawsuit, Sunrise will get an in-person meeting with representatives of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in Washington, according to the settlement agreement. The shipment of corn, initially released based on an entry documentation that said it was organic and from Turkey but later found to be of Russian, Moldovan and Kazakhstani origin, never left its ship, and departed the Port of San Francisco the day after Sunrise’s initial bid for a court order failed in April (see 1804240065). Sunrise maintains that the shipment complied with all APHIS requirements. Sunrise agreed to dismissal with prejudice, which means it can’t bring the same legal claim again.