The group responsible for putting a moratorium on genetically engineered crops on the Maui County ballot launched a pre-emptive strike against agricultural giants Wednesday by filing a lawsuit in Maui Circuit Court.

Honolulu attorney Michael C. Carroll, representing the Shaka Movement and five of its leaders, said the group wants the measure’s legal standing determined in a local court rather than federal court, where a judge has already ruled against one local anti-GMO law and is weighing the legality of another.

"We feel the Maui court is in the best position to decide on this issue," Carroll said.

The suit names Dow AgroSciences, a part of Dow Chemical, and Monsanto, which promised to take legal action the day after the moratorium was narrowly passed by Maui voters Nov. 4.

The measure temporarily suspends the growth, testing or cultivation of GMO crops in Maui County until they are proved safe by an environmental and public health study.

Monsanto could not be reached for comment Wednesday. The company previously said the measure violates state and federal laws that allow the testing and planting of GMO crops.

The lawsuit, which also targets Maui County, additionally seeks to assure transparency and the proper implementation of the law in light of the county government’s lukewarm position on the measure, Carroll said.

"We applaud the county’s recent indication that they will implement the moratorium," said Mark Sheehan, spokesperson for the citizen group. "However, given the strong prior opposition of the Maui County Council and mayor’s office during the campaign, we want to ensure that the citizens of Maui have full access to the implementation process and that the new law is properly administered."

The suit asks that the county take "proper measures" to implement the new law, including adopting appropriate rules, obtaining the necessary funding and consulting with the plaintiffs.

Contacted Wednesday afternoon, Maui County Communication Director Rod Antone declined to comment, saying the county had yet to be served with the lawsuit.

In July, a Maui County Council committee declined to take action on the proposed moratorium after activists with the Shaka Movement collected more than 9,000 valid signatures qualifying it for the ballot. During the campaign preceding the general election, Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa described the initiative’s language as impractical, flawed and potentially expensive for the county.

Following the election, however, Keith Regan, the county’s managing director, said, "The people have spoken, and the county is obligated to carry out their will. Hopefully, now we can move forward and our community can heal from this divisive issue."

Antone said the county is determining how much manpower, resources and equipment would be needed to implement the law. Once that is completed, he said, the county council would be asked to approve a budget amendment.

But with Monsanto threatening to take legal action, as other businesses and groups did following the approval of anti-GMO laws in Kauai and Hawaii counties, it appeared the measure was headed for battle in a federal courtroom.

Kauai’s Ordinance 960 remains on appeal after it was struck down by a federal judge who ruled that it was pre-empted by state laws regulating pesticides and GMOs. The same judge is expected to rule on Hawaii island’s Bill 113, which bans cultivation of any new genetically altered crops, including GMO papayas, unless registered with the county.

Carroll said that if the agribusiness companies were to file suit in federal court now, it would likely be dismissed until the Maui litigation is resolved.

"We’re fairly confident the court will uphold the law," he said.

In any case, the law likely will be appealed to a higher court whatever happens in Maui’s 2nd Circuit Court, Carroll said.

The five Shaka Movement leaders named as plaintiffs in the suit are spokesman Sheehan, Lorrin Pang, Lei‘ohu Ryder, Bonnie Marsh and Alika Atay.

They are part of the team that made Maui County history when it became the first citizens group to gather enough signatures to qualify an initiative for the ballot. They contend companies like Monsanto and Dow, through its subsidiary Mycogen, use Hawaii as an outdoor laboratory to test genetically modified crops, many of which are engineered to resist herbicides and pesticides. Testing these crops means repeated spraying of chemicals near neighborhoods, schools and waterways, they say.

Supporters of the companies contend they are already regulated extensively by federal and state agencies.

As a result of the new law, they said, hundreds of workers could lose their jobs and the county faces the loss of an estimated $85 million in economic activity.

The opposition to the Maui initiative, backed by Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences, spent nearly $8 million on the election, making it the most expensive and lopsided campaign in state history.

CORRECTION: Monsanto is not involved in the litigation over the anti-GMO laws in Kauai and Hawaii counties. The story has been corrected.