Monsanto's Bid To Block Evidence From Roundup Trials Denied

Monsanto's Bid To Block Evidence From Roundup Trials Denied

Introduction

On Monday, January 28, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria of the Northern District of California denied Monsanto's bid to exclude vital evidence from an upcoming bellwether trial linked to Roundup's carcinogenic nature.

Judge Chhabria suggested that plaintiffs can introduce the evidence during the first phase of the trial. There were reports that pointed at Monsanto's alleged attempt to ghostwrite studies and influence researchers investigating glyphosate exposure side-effects. Plaintiffs' attorneys asserted that the evidence associated with Monsanto's alleged misconduct is crucial in proving claims filed against the agro-giant. However, Bayer maintained that the information in the internal company documents was merely an attempt to distract jurors from actual scientific evidence. Judge Chhabria admitted that though his decision was disappointing for Monsanto, any proof that confirms the company's involvement in hiding the risks of glyphosate exposure is completely relevant to the bellwether trials. The federal judge's order is applicable to the first trial set to begin on February 25, involving claims filed by a California resident as well as two future trials. Bayer has filed another motion to bar evidence being presented for claims filed by a California couple in San Francisco Superior Court and requested to bifurcate the trial scheduled for March, into two phases.

There are more than 600 Roundup lawsuits pending in the multidistrict litigation, which are centralized in the Northern District of California for coordinated pretrial proceedings. All those lawsuits raise allegations that Roundup use causes non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a deadly form of cancer.