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National & World Ag News Headlines |
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Judge Orders Monsanto Roundup Trial to Start in October
USAgNet - 08/15/2019
Monsanto's bid to postpone another upcoming Roundup cancer trials in St. Louis has failed - at least for the time being - as a judge has ordered that a trial set for October will proceed.
After hearing Monsanto's argument last week seeking a continuance in the case of Walter Winston v. Monsanto, St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Michael Mullen denied Monsanto's request and said the trial would start Oct. 15. Judge Mullen said that depositions
and discovery in the case should continue until Sept. 16 with the jury selection process to begin Oct. 10.
The trial, if it takes place, would be the fourth time Monsanto has had to face cancer patients in a courtroom to answer allegations that its Roundup herbicide products cause non-Hodgkin lymphoma and that the company has sought to cover up information
about the risks. Monsanto lost the first three trials and juries awarded more than $2 billion in damages, although each of the three jury awards have been reduced by the trial judges.
The Winston trial would also be the first trial to take place in Monsanto's former hometown of St. Louis. Before selling to the German company Bayer AG last year, Monsanto was one of the largest St. Louis-based employers.
A trial that had been set to start in St. Louis on Aug. 19 was delayed by court order last week, and a trial that was set to start in September has also been continued.
After the trial continuance announced last week, sources said the company and lawyers for the plaintiffs were moving into serious discussions about a potential global settlement. Currently, more than 18,000 people are suing Monsanto, all alleging they developed
non-Hodgkin lymphoma due to Roundup exposure and Monsanto covered up the evidence of danger. Someone falsely floated a potential settlement offer of $8 billion, causing Bayer shares to rise sharply.
Bayer has been dealing with a depressed share price and disgruntled investors ever since the Aug. 10, 2018 jury decision in the first Roundup cancer trial. The jury awarded California groundskeeper Dewayne "Lee" Johnson $289 million and found that
Monsanto acted with malice in suppressing information about the risks of its herbicides.
Monsanto appealed the verdict to the California Courts of Appeal, and Johnson has cross-appealed seeking to restore his $289 million award from the reduced award of $78 million set by the trial judge. That appeal is continuing and oral arguments are
expected in September or October.
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