Monsanto strikes back in Solutia dispute
judge to either deny or postpone a request by Solutia to eliminate
liabilities to its former parent Monsanto.
Solutia was forced to file for bankruptcy in the US last year in a bid to shake off its responsibility for legal, environmental and retirement costs of around $100 million (€80m) a year, absorbed when it became an independent company in 1997.
Pfizer's involvement in the case stems from the merger of Pharmacia with Monsanto in 1999. Pfizer subsequently merged with Pharmacia in 2002 and spun out Monsanto as a separate unit.
Monsanto and Pharmacia argue that the court should deny Solutia's rejection request because the liabilites form part of about 30 other contracts that together constitute an entire agreement that led to Solutia's spinoff. The entire agreement should be considered as a whole and not piecemeal, they said.
Monsanto and Pharmacia filed their response to Solutia's petition in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday, the deadline for the filing. The case is scheduled to be heard on 3 February.
