Multiplaintiff trials regarding Roundup pesticide will not be held, according to Judge Winifred Smith of the Superior Court of California, who made the announcement of her decision on Jan. 10.

Judge Smith was asked by lawyers representing several cancer victims if she would consider ordering multiplaintiff trials because of the significant number of lawsuits facing Monsanto and parent company Bayer AG. In addition, plaintiffs’ attorneys believe the defense arguments from Bayer’s lawyers will be the same among the cases.

Judge Smith agreed Bayer’s defenses would have many “common denominators,” but she plans to transfer a number of cases to other county courts, where other judges may not wish to hold these trials as multiplaintiff procedures.

Judge Smith is with the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda.

Bayer released its 2019 financial report, which indicated the company is facing around 42,700 plaintiffs who have filed personal injury lawsuits against the company over allegations its Roundup pesticides cause cancer.

Currently, Judge Smith has about 500 of those Roundup lawsuits pending in coordinated proceedings, but she has chosen 12 cases to serve as bellwether trials. Many others will be transferred to other county courts, she said.

Judge Smith was the presiding judge in the third Roundup lawsuit that went to trial that involved allegations by plaintiffs Alva and Alberta Pilliod that they both developed non-Hodgkins lymphoma due to using Roundup pesticide for decades. The Pilliods were awarded $2.06 billion by a jury in May, but Judge Smith reduced the award to $86.7 million. Bayer has appealed that judgment and two others.

The Contra Costa Superior Court in California will preside over the next Roundup lawsuit that pits plaintiff Kathleen Caballero against Monsanto. Jury selection begins Jan. 17.

Roundup Pesticide Facing Cancer Allegations

According to US News, Los Angeles County’s Board of Supervisors announced a moratorium on the application of Roundup by the county’s Department of Public Works back in May of last year.

“I am asking county departments to stop the use of this herbicide until public health and environmental professionals can determine if it’s safe for further use in LA County and explore alternative methods for vegetation management,” said LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who recommended the ban, according to KNBC-TV.

In August 2019, California’s regulators took a blow from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which said the EPA would not approve any labels that claimed Roundup is known to cause cancer.

Even though World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer said Roundup’s active ingredient glyphosate was a “probable human carcinogen,” the EPA declared in 2017 that glyphosate does not cause cancer.

California has glyphosate on the state’s Proposition 65 list, which is a law requiring any business that sells products containing ingredients on the list to warn customers the products could cause cancer. Glyphosate also has been listed as a cancer-causing chemical with the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment since July of 2017.

Environmental Working Group President Ken Cook released a statement regarding LA County’s ban on the spraying of Roundup pesticide.

“Kicking Bayer-Monsanto and its cancer-causing weedkiller off LA County property was absolutely the right call. We know glyphosate causes cancer in people and shouldn’t be sprayed anywhere – period,” Cook said in a press release.

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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