Bayer/Monsanto and Roundup Verdict of $2 Billion = Settlement
Pilliod v. Monsanto Co. RG17862702, California Superior Court, County of Alameda (Oakland)
(MASS TORT NEXUS MEDIA) Combine the $2 billion verdict of May 13, 2019 and the two previous jury awards of $159 million in damages and you get major legal and financial issues for Bayer and the board of directors.
The Monsanto Roundup MDL 2741 May trial, initially set for next week was stopped by Judge Chhabria, who vacated the May 20, 2019 bellwether trial date, in the case of, Stevick v. Monsanto where plaintiff Elaine Stevick, asserts that Roundup caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Federal Judge Vince Chhabria is overseeing thousands of Roundup lawsuits and has deemed Hardeman’s case and two others “bellwether trials” in ROUNDUP-MONSANTO-(GLYPHOSATE)-MDL-2741-(USDC-ND-California).
The numbers being discussed between Bayer corporate and their now very concerned board of directors for a global settlement are between $3 billion and $5 billion, which may be a low number after the $2 billion Pilliod jury award.
Here is the breakdown of the Pilliod vs. Monsanto trial verdict in the Alameda County Superior Court, Oakland, CA
$2.055 billion total verdict
$55,206,172.80 compensatory damages and $2 billion punitive damages
Alva Pilliod
Compensatory:
Past economic – $47,296.01
Past non-economic loss – $8M
Future non-economic loss – $10M
——————————————-
$18,047,296.10
Punitive damages – $1 billion
Alberta Pilliod
Compensatory:
Past economic – $201,166.76
Past non-economic – $8M
Future economic – $2,957,710
Future non-economic – $26M
——————————————-
$37,158,876.70
Punitive damages – $1 billion
Monsanto Hit with Historic $2.055 Billion Verdict Losing Third Roundup Trial
Baum Hedlund Firm Press Conference on Verdict: https://www.facebook.com/BaumHedlund/
May 13, 2019 An Alameda jury in the case of Pilliod et al. v. Monsanto Company (Case No. RG17862702, JCCP No. 4953) returned a verdict today of $2.055 billion in favor of a husband and wife with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, ordering Monsanto to pay $55 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages ($1 billion each for Mr. and Mrs. Pilliod) for failing to warn consumers that exposure to Roundup weed killer causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).
The verdict is the third in a row against Monsanto (now Bayer). Combined with the first two legal defeats (the Johnson v. Monsanto verdict of $289.2M and the Hardeman v. Monsanto verdict of $80M), verdicts against Monsanto in the Roundup cancer litigation now stand at $2.424 billion with 13,400 cases still pending in state and federal courts. (Johnson’s verdict was later reduced to $78.5M but his verdict is on appeal.)
A press conference on today’s landmark verdict will be held at the offices of Audet & Partners in San Francisco at 4:30 p.m. Plaintiffs Alva and Alberta Pilliod and their legal team will give statements on the verdict. A Q&A with the attorneys will follow. Details can be found below. We will also live stream this from our Facebook page.
Monsanto Loses Third Straight Roundup Cancer Trial
Alva and Alberta Pilliod, a Livermore, California couple in their 70s, used Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer together for more than 30 years to landscape their home and other properties. They were both diagnosed with the same type of NHL, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), associated with Roundup exposure. In 2011, Alva was diagnosed with systemic NHL in many of his bones, which spread to his pelvis and spine. Alberta was diagnosed with NHL brain cancer in 2015.
In their Roundup cancer lawsuit, the couple attributed their cancer diagnoses on exposure to Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate, and accused Monsanto of fraudulently representing that Roundup is safe despite scientific evidence linking exposure to NHL.
At trial, attorneys for the Pilliods, Michael Miller of the Miller Firm and R. Brent Wisner of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, showed jurors a trove of internal Monsanto documents they say demonstrate the agrochemical giant’s manipulation of scientific literature, including ghostwriting several review papers on glyphosate published in scientific journals and cited in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory reviews.
The jury also saw documents showing Monsanto’s efforts to influence EPA and other regulatory agencies, as well as evidence that Monsanto ran a public relations campaign to plant favorable stories in Reuters and other media outlets to defend its products and discredit scientists who determined glyphosate was linked to cancer.
During closing arguments, Wisner told the jury that Roundup was “born in fraud” because the agrochemical received EPA approval in 1974 based on studies conducted at Industrial Bio-Test Laboratories (IBT). A subsequent EPA review of the data found that IBT routinely falsified data. Three IBT executives were later convicted of fraud. According to Wisner, from that point on, Monsanto repeatedly refused to conduct studies on glyphosate and Roundup, even after the EPA and its own toxicologist told Monsanto that it needed to conduct more studies to address safety concerns.
After approximately 7 weeks of trial proceedings, the jury found that exposure to Roundup caused the Pilliods to develop NHL and that Monsanto failed to warn of this severe health hazard. Importantly, the jury also found that Monsanto acted with malice, oppression or fraud and should be punished for its conduct.
Since the Monsanto acquisition last summer and two negative jury verdicts, Bayer has lost more than $30 billion in shareholder value.
Monsanto Co. continues to refuse to warn consumers of the dangers of its multi-billion-dollar product Roundup despite the world’s foremost authority on cancer—the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)—listing glyphosate as a probable carcinogen in 2015.
Monsanto Bad Conduct Is Revealed
* Monsanto never conducted epidemiology studies for Roundup and its other formulations made with the active ingredient glyphosate to evaluate the cancer risks for users.
* Monsanto was aware that the surfactants in Roundup were much more toxic than glyphosate alone.
* Monsanto spent millions of dollars on covert public relations campaigns to finance ghostwritten studies and articles aimed at discrediting independent scientists whose work found dangers with Monsanto’s herbicides.
* When the US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry sought to evaluate glyphosate toxicity in 2015, Monsanto engaged the assistance of EPA officials to delay that review.
* Monsanto enjoyed a close relationship with certain officials within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who have repeatedly backed Monsanto’s assertions about the safety of its glyphosate products.
* The company internally had worker safety recommendations that called for wearing a full range of protective gear when applying glyphosate herbicides, but did not warn the public to do the same.
Pilliod v. Monsanto Trial Transcripts
Pilliod v. Monsanto Trial Exhibits
Pilliod v. Monsanto Jury Instructions
Attorneys React to Verdict Against Monsanto
After the verdict, co-lead trial counsel R. Brent Wisner thanked the jury for dutifully listening to scientific evidence and testimony over the course of several weeks. “They were given an incredibly difficult task having to analyze the highly-complex scientific issues in this case,” said Wisner. “They took detailed notes, asked incredibly thoughtful questions and in the end, came to understand that the science shows there are serious health hazards associated with Roundup and that Monsanto did nothing to warn people about the risk.”
“The jury saw for themselves internal company documents demonstrating that, from day one, Monsanto has never had any interest in finding out whether Roundup is safe,” Wisner said. “Instead of investing in sound science, they invested millions in attacking science that threatened their business agenda.”
Wisner also thanked everyone on the trial team, calling the victory a “true team effort that would not have been possible without the tenacity and resolve of everyone who worked on the case.”
Michael Miller, who served with Wisner as co-lead trial counsel added: “Unlike the first two Monsanto trials, where the judges severely limited the amount of plaintiffs’ evidence, we were finally allowed to show a jury the mountain of evidence showing Monsanto’s manipulation of science, the media and regulatory agencies to forward their own agenda despite Roundup’s severe harm to the animal kingdom and humankind.”
Roundup Cancer Attorneys in Pilliod v. Monsanto
A team of attorneys from three law firms represented the Pilliods in this trial: Michael Miller, Curtis G. Hoke, David J. Dickens and Jeffrey Travers of The Miller Firm of Orange, Virginia; R. Brent Wisner, Michael L. Baum and Pedram Esfandiary of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman of Los Angeles, California; and Mark Burton of Audet & Partners of San Francisco, California.
The Miller Firm and Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman co-tried the case of Dewayne “Lee” Johnson v. Monsanto Co., the first Monsanto Roundup lawsuit to proceed to trial. The case resulted in a $289.2 million jury verdict last August. The judge later upheld the jury’s verdict but reduced the punitive damages award, bringing the total award to $78.5 million.
Baum Hedlund partner, R. Brent Wisner, was also part of the Hardeman trial team (the second Roundup trial) conducted by Aimee Wagstaff of Andrus Wagstaff and Jennifer Moore of Moore Law in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (federal court). Mr. Wisner presented one of the key fact witnesses (Dr. Christopher Portier) and he cross-examined most of the corporate witnesses in Hardeman v. Monsanto Co. Wisner is also administrator and co-lead counsel for the Roundup Products Cases JCCP 4953 (known as the Roundup Judicial Council Coordination Proceedings or simply Roundup JCCP) before the California Superior Court for the County of Alameda (where he Pilliod trial occurred).
Baum Hedlund managing partner, Michael Baum, and a team working under him assisted the Hardeman trial team as members of the MDL Executive Committee by presenting and preparing experts, corporate testimony and documents for Hardeman v. Monsanto Co. Mr. Baum is also a member of the Executive Committee for the Monsanto Roundup MDL (federal multi-district litigation). Mr. Miller is a co-leader of the Roundup MDL Executive Committee.
Pilliod v. Monsanto Docket History and Links
Alva and Alberta Pilliod v. Monsanto Co. (Case No. RG17862702, JCCP No. 4953) is the first Roundup non-Hodgkin lymphoma lawsuit from the California Roundup Judicial Council Coordination Proceedings (JCCP) to go to trial. Hundreds of lawsuits filed in California state courts are consolidated in the Roundup JCCP before Judge Winifred Smith for the Superior Court of Alameda County.
Pilliod v. Monsanto Co. is the third Roundup cancer case to go before a jury. The first Monsanto Roundup trial, Dewayne “Lee” Johnson v. Monsanto Co., resulted in a $289.2 million jury verdict last August. The judge later upheld the jury’s verdict but reduced the punitive damages award, bringing the total award to $78.5 million. The second case, Edwin Hardeman v. Monsanto Co., resulted in an $80 million jury verdict against the agrochemical company.
Plaintiffs in the litigation against Monsanto (now Bayer) allege that exposure to Roundup weed killer caused them to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Quick link to Pilliod trial transcripts
Quick link to Pilliod trial exhibits
Quick link to Pilliod trial press release
Looking for unsealed Monsanto emails, communications, studies and other memoranda? Visit the Monsanto Papers page.
Alva Pilliod and his wife, Alberta, are in their 70s and have been married for nearly 50 years. They started using Roundup in the 1970s and continued using the weed killer until only a few years ago. The Livermore couple has two children and four grandchildren.
Alva suffers from non-Hodgkin lymphoma in his bones that spread to his pelvis and spine. He was diagnosed in 2011. Alberta was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma brain cancer in 2015.
Attorneys for the Pilliods asked Judge Ioana Petrou (the previous presiding judge who has since been appointed to the First District Court of Appeal) to expedite the trial due to their advanced ages and cancer diagnoses. Judge Petrou granted their trial preference. The presiding judge for this trial is now Judge Winifred Smith.
The Miller Firm senior partner Michael J. Miller and Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman attorney R. Brent Wisner are co-lead trial counsel for the Pilliods. The Miller Firm and Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman co-tried the Johnson case last year.
Pilliod v. Monsanto Company Trial Transcripts
Day 1: 3/28/2019 – Plaintiff opening statement by R. Brent Wisner. Defense opening statement by Tarek Ismail.
Day 2: 4/2/2019 – Dr. Christopher Portier 402 Hearing (short hearing out of the presence of the jury to determine the admissibility of evidence). Direct examination by R. Brent Wisner. Cross-examination by Tarek Ismail. Redirect examination by R. Brent Wisner.
Dr. Christopher Portier testimony (jury present). Direct examination by R. Brent Wisner.
Dr. Portier holds a Ph.D. in Biostatistics (with a minor in Epidemiology). For over three decades, Dr. Portier held prominent leadership positions in the U.S. government that combined the disciplines of toxicology, statistics and epidemiology, including:
- Associate Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) National Toxicology Program and thus the nation’s chief toxicologist, among other roles at NIEHS.
- Director of the National Center for Environmental Health, Center for Disease and Prevention.
- Director of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).
Day 3: 4/3/2019 – Dr. Christopher Portier testimony (continued). Direct examination by R. Brent Wisner. Cross-examination by Tarek Ismail. Redirect examination by R. Brent Wisner.
Day 4: 4/4/2019 – Dr. Charles Jameson testimony. Direct examination by R. Brent Wisner. Cross-examination by Tarek Ismail. Redirect examination by R. Brent Wisner. Recross-examination by Tarek Ismail.
Dr. Jameson worked for the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute (NCI) as a senior chemist for the NCI’s Rodent Bioassay Program where he served as chief chemist, directing all chemistry activities and participating in the development of all two-year rodent bioassays while also serving as secretary for the NCI’s Chemical Selection Working Group. He also served as program leader for the National Toxicology Program at the NIH’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) for 12 years.
Day 5: 4/8/2019 – Dr. Beate Ritz, Chair of the Epidemiology Department at UCLA, direct examination by Michael Miller. Cross-examination by Kelly Evans. Redirect examination by Michael Miller. Recross-examination by Kelly Evans. Further redirect examination by Michael Miller.
Mark Martens video testimony (taken on April 7, 2017 in Washington, D.C.). Mr. Martens is a former Monsanto executive, Toxicology Agriculture Research & Development Director for Monsanto Europe.
Dr. Ritz is a professor of Epidemiology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She holds doctoral degrees in Medicine and Epidemiology and is the author of numerous toxicology publications, lectures and presentations. Dr. Ritz engaged in a systematic review of the literature in this case, utilized the Bradford Hill Criteria and concluded that “to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty, glyphosate causes NHL. Furthermore, to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty, glyphosate-based formulations, including Roundup, cause NHL.”
Day 6: 4/9/2019 – Dr. Dennis Weisenburger direct examination by Michael Miller. Cross-examination by Tarek Ismail.
Dr. Weisenburger specializes in the studies of the hematopoietic and immune systems, with a special interest in non-Hodgkin lymphoma. His study of the pathological mechanisms by which NHL develops began in the 1980s when he was directing large epidemiologic studies related to NHL.
Over the last four decades, Dr. Weisenburger has published over 300 papers on NHL in peer-reviewed journals, and over 50 papers on the epidemiology of NHL, including studies on glyphosate and NHL. In his expert report, Dr. Weisenburger concluded that to “a reasonable degree of medical certainty that glyphosate and GBFs [glyphosate-based formulations] (including Roundup) can cause NHL in humans exposed to these chemicals in the workplace or environment.”
Dr. Weisenburger Expert Report
Day 7: 4/10/2019 – Dr. Dennis Weisenburger cross-examination by Tarek Ismail (resumed). Redirect examination by Michael Miller. Recross-examination by Tarek Ismail. Further re-direct examination by Michael Miller. Further recross-examination by Tarek Ismail.
Mark Martens video testimony (resumed).
William Reeves video testimony. Mr. Reeves is Global Health and Safety Issues Management Lead at Bayer Crop Science.
Day 8: 4/11/2019 – Dr. William Robert Sawyer, toxicologist, direct examination by Brent Wisner. Cross-examination by Kelly Evans. Redirect examination by Brent Wisner.
William Reeves video testimony (resumed)
Day 9: 4/15/19 – William Reeves video testimony (resumed)
William Heydens video testimony (Monsanto Regulatory Product Safety Assessment Lead)
Michael Koch video testimony (Product Safety Team Lead, Bayer Crop Science)
Day 10: 4/16/19 – Michael Koch video testimony (resumed)
William Pease, direct examination by Brent Wisner. Cross-examination by Eugene Brown, Jr. Redirect examination by Brent Wisner.
Dr. Pease, toxicologist and assistant adjunct professor at the School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley. In the early 90s he was a Research Toxicologist at UC Berkeley, where he coordinated the school’s Environmental Health Policy Program and conducted research on the impacts of pesticide use in California. Dr. Pease served as the co-chair of the Human Health Committee of CalEPA’s Comparative Risk Project, organizing its risk assessment and risk ranking process.
Michael Koch video testimony (resumed)
Aaron Blair video testimony. Dr. Blair currently serves as an advisor on the Chlordecone Scientific Committee (Institute National du Cancer, France), Pesticide Advisory Committee (Carex Canada), and Independent Advisory Board for Exposure Assessment (Institute of Occupational Medicine, Scotland). He has authored/coauthored more than 500 papers on occupational and environmental causes of cancer, other diseases, and epidemiologic methodology.
Daniel Goldstein video testimony. Dr. Goldstein works for Monsanto as Monsanto Lead Medical Sciences and Outreach.
Day 11: 4/17/2019 – Charles Benbrook, scientist and agricultural economist, direct examination by Brent Wisner. Cross-examination by Eugene Brown, Jr. Redirect by Brent Wisner.
Kavitha Raj video testimony. Dr. Kavitha Raj is the treating physician for Mr. and Mrs. Pilliod.
Day 12: 4/18/2019 – Kavitha Raj video testimony (resumed)
Alberta Pilliod direct examination by Brent Wisner. Cross-examination by Eugene Brown, Jr.
Alva Pilliod direct examination by Brent Wisner
Michael Pilliod direct examination by Michael Miller
Alberta and Alva Pilliod are the plaintiffs in this case. Michael Pilliod is their son.
James Rubenstein video testimony
Dr. Rubenstein, attending physician in hematology and oncology from the University of California San Francisco, was Alberta Pilliod’s treating physician.
Day 13: 4/22/2019 – Neel Gupta video testimony. Dr. Gupta is Alberta Pilliod’s physician.
Chadi Nabhan direct examination by Michael Miller. Voir dire examination by Tarek Ismail. Direct examination by Michael Miller.
Dr. Chadi Nabhan is a board-certified clinical medical oncologist and past Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago. Currently, Dr. Nabhan serves as Medical Director of Cardinal Health. His clinical practice and academic research for the past 17 years has focused on lymphomas.
Day 14: 4/23/2019 – Alberta Pilliod 402 hearing (out of the presence of the jury). Direct examination by Brent Wisner. Cross-examination by Tarek Ismail. Redirect examination by Brent Wisner.
Chadi Nabhan testimony (continued). Direct examination by Michael Miller. Cross-examination by Tarek Ismail. Redirect examination by Michael Miller. Recross-examination by Tarek Ismail.
Direct examination of James Mills by Michael Miller. Cross-examination by Tarek Ismail.
Mr. Mills is a forensic economist.
Video testimony of Samuel Murphey. Mr. Murphey is Head of Global Issues Management, Bayer Crop Science.
Video testimony of James Guard. Mr. Guard is Global Roundup Lawn & Garden Lead, Bayer Crops Science.
Plaintiffs rest.
Day 15: 4/25/2019 – Proceedings without jury present.
Day 16: 4/27/2019 – Testimony of defense expert witness, Celeste Bello.
Direct examination by Tarek Ismail. Voir dire examination by Brent Wisner. Direct examination resumed by Tarek Ismail. Cross-examination by Brent Wisner. Redirect examination by Tarek Ismail. Recross-examination by Brent Wisner.
Dr. Bello is a hematologist and oncologist at the Moffitt Cancer Center.
Day 17: 4/30/2019 – Testimony of defense expert witness, Robert Phalen.
Direct examination by Kelly Evans. Voir dire examination by Brent Wisner. Direct examination resumed by Kelly Evans. Cross-examination by Brent Wisner. Redirect examination Kelly Evans. Recross-examination by Brent Wisner.
Dr. Phalen is an associate professor in industrial hygiene and safety at the University of Houston, Clear Lake.
Day 18: 5/1/2019 – Testimony of defense expert witness, Lorelei Mucci.
Direct examination by Kelly Evans. Voir dire examination by Michael Miller. Direct examination resumed by Kelly Evans. Cross-examination by Michael Miller. Redirect examination by Kelly Evans. Recross-examination by Michael Miller.
Dr. Mucci is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Day 19: 5/6/2019 – Testimony of defense expert witness, Alexandra Levine.
Direct examination by Tarek Ismail. Voir dire examination by Michael Miller. Direct examination resumed by Tarek Ismail. Cross-examination by Michael Miller. Redirect examination by Tarek Ismail. Recross-examination by Michael Miller.
Dr. Levine is a professor in City of Hope’s Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Transplantation Institute.
Defendant rests.
Day 20: 5/7/2019 – Proceedings without jury present.
Pilliod v. Monsanto Company Trial Exhibits
Plaintiffs’ Trial Exhibits
The jury in Bayer AG’s third Roundup weedkiller trial was urged by a plaintiffs’ lawyer to consider socking the company with $1 billion in damages as punishment for covering up the health risks of the herbicide for decades.
The aggressive demand on behalf an elderly couple who claim they got cancer from exposure to Roundup shows that plaintiffs are becoming bolder after winning the first two trials against Bayer, which together yielded $159 million in damages.
The couple’s attorney said the billion-dollar request is roughly based on the gross profit of $892 million recorded in 2017 by the agricultural-chemicals division of Monsanto, which was making Roundup long before Bayer acquired the company last year.
“That is a number that changes things,” lawyer Brent Wisner said Wednesday at the close of a trial in state court in Oakland, California. He also asked the jury to award about $55 million to compensate Alva and Alberta Pilliod for economic damages like hospital bills and noneconomic losses such as pain and suffering.
Investors have been closely watching developments in the costly Roundup litigation, and Bayer fell as much as 2.6% Thursday in Frankfurt. The shares have fallen about 40 percent since the $63 billion Monsanto purchase was completed in June.
Wisner argued that Monsanto’s internal data and documents reveal its “manipulation and fabrication of science,” just like other defective products that got to market based on fraudulent representations that they were safe.
An attorney for the company sought Wednesday to poke holes in the Pilliods’ efforts to show that they wouldn’t have developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma if they hadn’t used Roundup for landscaping their properties over a period of 30 years.
Tarek Ismail told the jury that’s an impossible, illogical conclusion given that Alva Pilliod’s weakened immune system greatly increased his risk of developing cancer. Digging into Pilliod’s medical history, Ismail cited 22 different types of skin cancers starting in his 20s, five brain infections starting in the late 1970s caused by herpes, other viral infections and colitis.
“You put this picture together and what do you see?” Ismail asked. “How anyone can stand here and deny this evidence of a weakened immune system is incredible.”
Alberta Pilliod, who Ismail said started smoking before she was 20 years old, similarly suffered from conditions that increased her risk of developing non-Hodgkins lymphoma, the lawyer said. He highlighted testimony from a doctor for the couple to argue her cancerous tumor wasn’t a type associated with exposure to herbicides, “full stop.”
Bayer Chief Executive Officer Werner Baumann faces increased shareholder pressure over the litigation it inherited from Monsanto. The agrochemical giant that operates out of St. Louis is the named defendant in U.S. lawsuits over Roundup filed by 13,400 people, a number that jumps by thousands with each passing quarter.
Why Bayer Shares Are Facing Such Trials Over Roundup: QuickTake
Bayer denies that Roundup causes cancer and the company has been holding out hope for a court win that would give Baumann some breathing space as the company hones its legal response to the swelling wave of litigation. A third loss, however, could force the company to accelerate talks on a global settlement, which analysts have said could top $5 billion. The judge in San Francisco handling the federal suits canceled a trial scheduled for May 20 to allow for confidential negotiations.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers, meanwhile, are honing their own arguments. In Oakland, Wisner presented evidence previous juries hadn’t seen, and portrayed internal emails and company advertising as evidence of glib disregard for consumer safety.
He played a video of an advertisement for Roundup showing a suburban man in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt killing weeds using the company’s “one-touch wand” to a soundtrack invoking the Old West. He pointed to Monsanto’s own exposure studies recommending that the herbicide be applied with chemical boots and overalls.
“That’s deliberate and knowing disregard for human safety, and it directly links to the Pilliods,” Wisner said.
An award of $1 billion would be vulnerable to a legal challenge by Bayer because courts have generally held that punitive damages shouldn’t be more than 10 times higher than compensatory damages.
The Alameda County Court case is Pilliod v. Monsanto Co. RG17862702, California Superior Court, County of Alameda (Oakland).
Mass Tort Nexus wants to thank Robin McCall and the Baum Hedlund firm for sharing their comments immediately after the trial verdict was announced.
Contact: Robin McCall, Media Relations
Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, PC
Los Angeles – Sacramento – San Francisco
10940 Wilshire Blvd., 17th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Phone: (310) 207-3233
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://www.baumhedlundlaw.com/pilliod-v-monsanto-trial/