News: Court Urged to Reinstate Dismissed Paraquat Bellwether Cases
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals is considering whether to reinstate four Paraquat lawsuits that were previously dismissed.
These cases were originally selected for the first federal bellwether trials to examine potential links between the weedkiller and Parkinson’s disease. However, the trial judge dismissed them last year after barring the plaintiffs’ expert witnesses from testifying.
Background of Paraquat Litigation
These lawsuits are part of a broader legal battle against Syngenta and Chevron, with over 5,800 product liability claims filed in federal court. Plaintiffs allege that the manufacturers failed to warn users about the increased risk of Parkinson’s disease linked to Paraquat exposure. Since June 2021, the cases have been centralized in a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the Southern District of Illinois to streamline pretrial proceedings and prepare representative cases for bellwether trials.
Dismissal of Bellwether Cases and Appeal
Despite the judge’s initial selection of bellwether cases, the first group was dismissed after expert testimony was excluded. This left the plaintiffs unable to prove that their Parkinson’s disease resulted from Paraquat exposure. The plaintiffs appealed the decision, arguing that their experts were unfairly held to an excessively high standard and that the ruling was premature. They claim the judge’s assessment of their testimony exceeded legal precedents and that a jury should have determined the reliability of the evidence.
Defendants’ Position
Syngenta and Chevron continue to deny the allegations, asserting that no peer-reviewed research has definitively linked Paraquat to Parkinson’s disease. They maintain that the plaintiffs’ claims lack scientific support and should be dismissed.
New Bellwether Cases Moving Forward
While the appeal is pending, the judge overseeing the MDL has moved forward with a second batch of bellwether cases. In August 2024, 10 new cases were selected, and in January 2025, six of those cases were chosen for full case-specific discovery. Three cases are set for the first bellwether trial on October 14, 2025, while the remaining three will go to trial on April 6, 2026.