Monsanto recently argued that a Roundup cancer lawsuit, which is scheduled to go to trial in St. Louis in October, should be broken into smaller cases.

Lawyers for Monsanto and parent company Bayer reportedly sent a letter recently to the presiding St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Gloria Clark Reno, urging the court to break up a group of 14 plaintiffs into smaller groups. Currently, the plaintiffs’ Roundup lawsuit is scheduled for Oct. 15 but Monsanto has requested a delay.

The time and venue of the Roundup cancer trial have been hotly debated in recent months. Originally, the trial was supposed to take place in the St. Louis City Court but protests from Monsanto lead to 13 of the 14 plaintiffs being moved to the county’s Circuit Court.

Earlier this year, the Missouri Supreme Court determined that plaintiff attorneys could not anchor their suit in St. Louis based on only one person’s proper venue. This decision undermined the Roundup plaintiffs’ venue choice since only one plaintiff has proper venue in the city, but plaintiff attorneys are doing their best to keep the plaintiffs together.

Plaintiffs: Keep Roundup Cancer Lawsuit in a Single Court

Plaintiff counsel in the Roundup cancer lawsuit has reportedly called on St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Michael Mullen to try the case for all plaintiffs in county court by taking a temporary assignment, but Monsanto calls this effort an “extraordinary proposal.”

In the company’s letter to Judge Reno, Monsanto says that the plaintiff lawyers “have only themselves to blame for the position they are now in. At the time they filed their claims, venue in the City of St. Louis was not proper […] The Missouri Supreme Court’s decision […] flatly confirmed that conclusion.”

Regardless of the venue chosen for the Roundup cancer lawsuit, the claims remain the same. The plaintiffs claim that they developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma due to exposure to glyphosate-based Roundup herbicides.

According to the Mayo Clinic, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a type of cancer that affects the body’s lymphatic system, a network of glands and cells responsible for fighting diseases. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma originates in the lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The cancer may result in symptoms such as swollen lymph nodes, abdominal pain, chest pain, fatigue, fever, night sweats, unexplained weight loss, and more.

Usually, risk factors for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma may include immunosuppressive medications, certain infections, and old age. However, more recent allegations suggest that the cancer may also be tied to glyphosate.

Glyphosate is the active ingredient found in Roundup and the industrial version Ranger Pro, according to a report by PBS News. The herbicide kills plants by inhibiting certain enzymes that help regulate growth, meaning that it indiscriminately kills almost all plants except those engineered to be resistant.

Although Monsanto has reportedly portrayed glyphosate as safe, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) – a subdivision of the United Nations’ World Health Organization – has classified the chemical as a “probable human carcinogen” based on evidence linking it to non-Hodkin’s lymphoma.

As a result, consumers who say they have developed cancer as a result of using Roundup and other glyphosate herbicides have filed lawsuits against Monsanto. These customers, including those in the St. Louis Roundup cancer lawsuit, claim that the company failed to properly warn them about the risks of glyphosate.

If you or a loved one developed cancer after using Roundup as a farm worker or home gardener, you may have a legal claim. Legal migrant farm workers may also seek help. Learn more by filling out the form on this page for a FREE case evaluation.

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