Current Legal Rules Benefit Spray Applicators When It Comes to Pesticide Drift

Abstract

Homeowners, landowners, pesticide applicators, and farmers all have concerns about pesticide drift. Pesticide drift may injury a homeowner’s garden or flowers or may ruin a neighboring farmer’s crop. At this point in time, no Maryland court has ever dealt with the issue of liability from pesticide drift. Other states’ courts have dealt with this issue, however, and these decisions can provide some guidance on how a Maryland court could potentially handle the issue.

Keywords: pesticide drift, negligence, proximate cause, agricultural law, ag law, commercial applicator, liability

JEL Classification: K13, K32