trial

June 5, 2023

PFAS contamination trial delayed as 3M negotiates sweeping settlement

By Shannon Kelleher and Carey Gillam

Chemical conglomerate 3M is working to settle claims that it is liable for knowingly contaminating the environment with toxic chemicals for decades, delaying what would have been a closely watched bellwether trial in South Carolina.

The trial that had been set to start Monday morning was expected to spotlight long-held secret documents regarding 3M’s knowledge about the dangers of its per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and how it worked with DuPont to conceal risks of PFAS from the public.

On Friday, DuPont and two related companies that also were named as defendants in the litigation said they would pay close to $1.2 billion to settle liability claims brought by public water systems serving the vast majority of the US population.

Bloomberg reported Friday that 3M was considering a $10 billion settlement.

The plaintiff in the bellwether case is the small city of Stuart, Florida, which accused 3M, Dupont and several other companies of contamination its drinking water with two types of PFAS called PFOS and PFOA that were used in “aqueous film-forming foams” (AFFF) the local fire department had used in training exercises.

More than 4,000 other plaintiffs are part of the broader litigation being overseen by the US District Court in Charleston, South Carolina. The multidistrict litigation (MDL) aims to recover the expenses public and private water utilities are incurring to test, monitor and replace water supplies and to install equipment to try to clear the chemicals from tainted systems.

On Sunday, 3M and lawyers representing plaintiffs in the MDL filed a joint motion for a trial continuance, saying “the parties are making material and significant progress toward a resolution…”

June 2, 2023

On eve of bellwether PFAS trial, chemical giants DuPont, 3M eye billion-dollar settlements

By Carey Gillam and Shannon Kelleher

Just days before the start of a bellwether trial in South Carolina over PFAS contamination of drinking water, DuPont and two related companies said they would pay close to $1.2 billion to settle liability claims brought by public water systems serving the vast majority of the US population.

PFAS maker 3M was reportedly also considering a settlement that would keep the company from having to face allegations that it was responsible for knowingly contaminating drinking water supplies around the United States.

The trial set to start Monday is expected to spotlight long-held secret documents about the chemical giant 3M’s knowledge about the dangers of its per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and how it worked with DuPont to conceal risks of PFAS from the public.

DuPont and its related companies were recently severed from the case as they negotiated the settlement in which DuPont will pay roughly $400 million; Chemours, a DuPont spinoff, will pay $592 million; and another DuPont-related company, Corteva, will pay about $193 million.

The companies said the settlement excludes personal injury claims due to alleged exposure to PFAS, as well as claims by state Attorneys General about PFAS contamination of natural resources.

Bloomberg reported Friday that 3M was negotiating a $10 billion payout that would resolve claims and avoid Monday’s trial.

Regarding the potential settlement, 3M said in an email to The New Lede “we don’t comment on rumors or speculation.” In a court filing 3M said that it was not liable and that it “never owned, operated, or otherwise controlled the facilities, disposal sites, and other purported sources of PFAS or related compounds.” The company lacked the “necessary controls over its products after the point of sale,” it said in the filing.

The company said in a statement that it is working to stop the use of PFAS across its product portfolio by the end of 2025, even though “PFAS are safely made and used in many modern products.“

September 2, 2022

Roundup litigation at turning point as Bayer rejects “global resolution plan”

By Carey Gillam

Fresh off a fifth-in-a-row trial victory, Monsanto owner Bayer AG is rejecting a proposed “global resolution plan” put forward by plaintiffs’ lawyers as a last chance to try to settle tens of thousands of pending Roundup cancer claims before a wave of new trials get underway, newly filed court documents show.

The company stance comes at a pivotal point in the ongoing nationwide litigation involving plaintiffs who allege they developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) from exposure to Monsanto’s glyphosate-based weed killers, such as Roundup.

The group of law firms leading the cases in what is called “multidistrict litigation (MDL)” is asking US District Court Judge Vince Chhabria to approve a plan that would set a 60-day window in which both sides would try to forge a final global settlement that would cover the claims of roughly 30,000 plaintiffs.

If no settlement can be reached, the plaintiffs’ firms want the judge to start the process of dissolving the MDL and clearing waves of cases to go to trial in the states where they originated.

The plaintiffs’ law firms say the current court-approved settlement process, which has been ongoing for two years, is too slow and ties plaintiffs into a mediation process that provides only low-ball settlement offers to plaintiffs while delaying trials.

“The offers made within the settlement program appear to be woefully inadequate. Thus, a substantial number of MDL cases remain unresolved by the settlement program, and it is highly unlikely that these cases will be settled absent global resolution or an imminent trial setting,” the plaintiffs’ firms said in a Sept. 1 court filing.

In opposing the proposal, Monsanto lawyers said the current MDL structure should be maintained and the mediation process kept in place. The company lawyers argued that disbanding the MDL and sending “thousands of current and future cases to district courts throughout this country” would “bring chaos to bear.”

August 3, 2022

Roundup trial starts in St. Louis

A St. Louis jury on Wednesday heard opening statements in a new Roundup cancer trial that is the latest in a long line-up of coming courtroom battles over allegations that Monsanto’s popular weed killer causes cancer.

Plaintiffs’ lawyer Gibbs Henderson told jurors that evidence in the case would persuade them that exposure to Roundup caused each of his three clients to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), while Monsanto lawyer Manuel Cachan said he would present evidence that would completely dispute any causal connection.

Henderson said in his opening statement that he expects Monsanto to rely heavily on assessments by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, is “not likely” to be carcinogenic. But he said he and other lawyers representing the plaintiffs will show the jury a large body of scientific evidence showing the herbicide does cause cancer and that Monsanto engaged in tactics designed to hide that information from consumers.

Henderson said the plaintiffs’ side will prove Monsanto was negligent and acted in “reckless disregard” for the plaintiffs’ safety with respect to its Roundup products.

“We think the evidence is going to show that reckless disregard,” said Henderson.

July 26, 2022

New Roundup trial starts next week in St. Louis

A new Roundup trial is scheduled to get underway next week, as three cancer patients face off against Monsanto in the company’s former hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, alleging exposure to the company’s weedkilling chemical caused their illnesses.

July selection in the case is set to start August 1 in St. Louis County Circuit Court in Clayton, the seat of St. Louis County government. The three plaintiffs were chosen for the trial from the dozens of plaintiffs represented in a case titled Alesi v Monsanto.

Jurors will hear about the health problems of plaintiff Cheryl Davis, 70, who has suffered through two bouts with follicular lymphoma her doctors have told her is considered incurable, as well as the case of 65-year-old Marty Cox, who is in remission from diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Both of their lymphomas are types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Cox has a host of other medical issues including diabetes and has been a smoker. The third plaintiff is 75-year-old Gary Gentile who also has suffered from non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).

All three were longtime users of Monsanto herbicides, such as Roundup, that were made with the active chemical ingredient called glyphosate. The International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2015 classified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen with a positive association to NHL.

St. Louis County Circuit Judge Brian May issued an order July 27 allowing the trial to be livestreamed by Courtroom View Network from Aug. 3 through the completion of the trial, subject to certain conditions. The approval for the broadcast came despite objections from Monsanto.

June 27, 2022

Supreme Court again rejects Bayer bid for review of Roundup loss

The US Supreme Court on Monday dealt another blow to Bayer AG’s effort to defend itself against ongoing litigation over allegations that Roundup herbicide causes cancer, denying the company’s request for a review of a California trial loss.

In declining to take up the case, the court let stand an $87 million award won by Alva and Alberta Pilliod. The jury originally ordered more than $2 billion in damages for the married couple, but the award was later cut by the court. Each of the Pilliods alleged they developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma after extensive use of Monsanto’s Roundup products.

June 9, 2022

Bayer wins latest Roundup cancer trial; tied 3-to-3 with plaintiffs for court wins

A Kansas City, Mo., jury on Thursday dismissed claims by a man who blamed his cancer on exposure to Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, agreeing with the company that the weed killer was not the source of the man’s disease.

The conclusion of the month-long trial gives Monsanto owner Bayer three courtroom wins in a row and brings the nationwide litigation battle to a 3-to-3 tie: the first three trial wins went to the plaintiffs’ side and the last three to the defense.

“The jury’s verdict in favor of the company brings this trial to a successful conclusion and is consistent with the evidence in this case that Roundup does not cause cancer…” Bayer said in a statement.

May 3, 2022

Monsanto on trial again – Missouri Roundup case begins

Nearly four years after the first-ever trial over allegations that exposure to Roundup herbicide causes cancer a new trial was underway on Tuesday, pitting a 34-year-old man suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) against Monsanto owner Bayer AG.

Allan Shelton, a lifelong resident of Kansas City, Mo., was diagnosed with NHL in May 2016, a little more than a year after international cancer scientists affiliated with the World Health Organization classified the active ingredient in Roundup, a chemical called glyphosate, as a probable human carcinogen.

March 24, 2022

Monsanto seeks “emergency” delay for St. Louis trial

Monsanto on Thursday asked a St. Louis judge to delay the start of a trial over claims brought by three men alleging exposure to Monsanto’s glyphosate-based herbicides, such as the popular Roundup brand, caused them to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Opening statements in the case of Neal v. Monsanto are expected next week. But on Thursday morning Monsanto requested a continuance “due to exigent circumstances.” The company did not detail its reasons in the filing.

March 18, 2022

Unsettled – Another Monsanto Roundup case heads to trial

Three people suffering from cancer are set to face off against Monsanto in the latest courtroom battle over allegations that exposure to the company’s Roundup weed killer causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

The trial will be the first to take place in the company’s former hometown, with jury selection set to start on March 24. (A previous trial in St. Louis was cancelled just hours before it was scheduled to begin due to a settlement agreement.)