Here`s an interesting treat to chew on weekends. Given Judge Vince Chhabria`s unusual handling of the first Roundup cancer lawsuit that was heard in federal court (see previous entries for bifurcation and other background) and the vitriol he used to appeal to plaintiff Edwin Hardeman`s legal counsel, many observers asked – what gives? The ramifications, his decision to sanction the plaintiff`s lead counsel, his threat to close the case altogether, and his repeated comments about how “fragile” the plaintiffs` evidence are, appear to favor Monsanto`s defense, at least in the early stages of the trial. Could there be a link between Chhabria and Monsanto? Currently, victims face problems with awarding points to determine settlement amounts. The points system in Roundup rules is complicated and you won`t get clear answers about how the Roundup points system works online. (Talk to your lawyer to clear up your confusion.) The preemption argument is considered weak by many legal experts, as a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision in a case titled Bates v. Dow Agrosciences concluded that EPA approval of a product does not exclude claims of non-warning under state law, and fifra specifically states: that the EPO`s approval is not an absolute defence. Among other things, Bayer plans to replace glyphosate in weed killers for the U.S. domestic market with other active ingredients. “This is a case in which two lawyers went far beyond the line of aggressive advocacy and penetrated deep into the territory of illegal extortion, in a brazen attempt to enrich themselves by withdrawing millions of dollars from a multinational,” Deputy Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski said in a statement.
He said the plea shows that “when crimes are committed, members of the bar, like all members of the public, are held accountable for their actions.” “We are disappointed with the Court`s decision not to review the Intermediate Court of Appeal`s decision in the Johnson case and will consider our legal options for further consideration of this case,” Bayer said in a statement. “In this case, we must work together to reach an agreement on a fair outcome that is FAIR to the authors, the publisher, the readers of CRT, the public and myself as editor-in-chief and editorial board of CRT. We must not take an approach that determines winners and losers in legal cases based on what may appear in the peer-reviewed literature,” McClellan wrote. Restricting plaintiffs` ability to seek punitive damages without limiting Bayer`s ability to resell Roundup distinguishes this settlement from a similar class action lawsuit, according to a statement opposing the nonprofit legal group Public Justice. The plan is a “blueprint on how manufacturers can cut off the right of victims to claim punitive damages for injuries caused by hazardous pesticides,” the group said. Last month, Hardeman`s attorney, Jennifer Moore, drew Judge Chhabria`s attention to fears in Hardeman`s legal team that Monsanto may have already engaged in geofencing and would do so again in an attempt to influence jurors. Moore told the judge they would consider “whether we would file an injunction to prohibit Monsanto from any type of geofencing or target jurors via social media or pay-per-click ads. And that is why I would just like to ask that this not be done. We don`t do it on our side, but I just don`t want to target judges, their social media or the Internet. Judge Chhabria noted in conversations with lawyers in the presence of the jury that Hardeman`s lawyers could argue that Monsanto spent a lot of money on advertising and payments to executives instead of conducting long-term safety studies on its products. Questions of money could be relevant to the jury`s deliberations on possible punitive damages, Chhabria said.
However, some legal experts argue that the rejection of the pre-emption argument in the Roundup dispute is erroneous and believe that Bayer has a strong defense on this issue. Bayer`s long-term hope of avoiding future liability in the Roundup cases was this appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in the Hardeman case. Hardeman received $25 million in damages after one of the first Roundup trials. Bayer then appealed that decision, arguing that lawsuits against Roundup should be legally excluded because federal authorities approved the product`s label on Roundup, which did not contain a cancer warning. Big Ag`s heaviest heavyweights told a federal court it should not try to stop GMO cotton and soybean producers from using illegal dicamba weedkillers by the end of July, despite the court order earlier this month for an immediate ban. Bayer and a team of plaintiffs` lawyers have sought to resolve the lawsuit, which could amount to more than $8 billion, legal sources said. The issues of causation and damages are “distinct and different from Monsanto`s alleged negligence and the company`s conduct and would involve the testimony of various witnesses,” the company argued. The bifurcation would be “unreasonably delayed in the resolution of this case… » avoid. Even as the spread of the coronavirus closes the doors of the courthouse to the public and lawyers, the legal maneuver over the claims of dangers associated with Monsanto`s glyphosate-based herbicides continues.
As Monsanto continues to fight legal claims about the alleged dangers of its widely used Roundup herbicides, the company is trying to block orders to hand over internal records of its work with public relations and strategic consulting firms. In their legal claims, the farmers claim that they suffered damage both by deriving from old versions of dicamba and by deriving from new versions. Farmers say the companies hoped the fear of drift damage would force farmers to buy special seeds tolerant to GMO dicamba to protect their cotton and soybean fields. After three stunning defeats in the California courtroom, the legal battle over the safety of Monsanto`s best-selling Roundup herbicide is heading to the company`s hometown, where company representatives may be forced to appear on the witness stand, and legal precedence shows a history of anti-company decisions. The day after the Court of Appeals` decision, Monsanto noted in a letter filed with Judge Ochoa that it recognized that the Court of Appeals` decision was “binding” on the San Bernardino court, but said the Court of Appeals “made a legal error.” In response to these revelations and questions from the media, CRT editor-in-chief Taylor & Francis Group launched an investigation in the fall of 2017. The recently published announcements show that a team of legal and ethical experts assembled by Taylor & Francis after months of asking the authors how the articles came together concluded that the authors had concealed Monsanto`s direct involvement in the articles, knowingly. In fact, some of the authors did not even fully disclose Monsanto`s involvement in the initial interrogation of Taylor & Francis during the investigation, as the emails show. The court`s showing that it is interested in discussing the appropriate amount of damages, rather than issues related to Monsanto`s request to set aside the loss of the lawsuit in its entirety, bodes well for the plaintiff`s side, legal observers said. In an interview, Johnson said he knew the legal battle with Monsanto could continue for many years to come, but he was determined to hold the company accountable. So far, he has managed to keep his disease at bay with regular chemotherapy and radiation therapy, but does not know how long it will last. Watch this interview with Aimee Wagstaff and Jennifer Moore, the legal team that brought down Monsanto and awarded plaintiff Edwin Hardeman the $80 million verdict in the Roundup cancer trial. (Hardeman also appears here) facebook.com/USRightToKnow/videos/2081557148623440 .
In a statement released after the court`s decision, Bayer said it supported the safety of Roundup: “The Court of Appeals` decision to reduce punitive damages and damages is a step in the right direction, but we continue to believe that the jury verdict and damages surcharges are inconsistent with court evidence and the law. Monsanto will consider its legal options, including filing an appeal with the California Supreme Court. The settlement would provide free legal advice and “assistance to help class members navigate, register and apply for settlement benefits.” Monsanto was active in the case that supported EPA approvals before the decision, but BASF and DuPont falsely claimed that the lawsuit only applied to Monsanto`s products and not theirs. However, the court clarified that the EPA had illegally approved the products manufactured by the three companies. “The jury`s exceptionally high remuneration prize is also imperfect. It is based on a simple error of law – that a plaintiff can claim painful and social damages for decades beyond their life expectancy – triggered by the lawyer`s blatant attempts to inflame the jury. Dickey spent nearly 30 years at the University of Illinois at WILL-AM 580, an affiliate of Urbana-Champaign`s NPR, where he won a dozen Associated Press awards for his reporting.
