New Roundup Cases To Be Tried in Philadelphia

By MedTruth Editors

The two epicenters of Roundup weedkiller cancer litigation have been northern California, where the consolidation of federal cases into multidistrict litigation (MDL) has been assigned, and St. Louis County, Missouri, headquarters of Monsanto, the manufacturer of the controversial weedkiller, acquired by Bayer AG in 2018. Recently, a case management order identified a dozen Roundup lawsuits to be adjudicated in Philadelphia for trial dates, with dozens more assigned to a Philadelphia court. 

The case management order in February by Judge Abbe Fletman of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in February selected the 12 cases for trial dates. One upcoming Philadelphia Monsanto Roundup bellwether case is scheduled for jury selection in early October. Jury selection for the second case is scheduled for November. Trial dates for the remaining 10 cases will be set in future orders, according to Lawyers & Settlements. Approximately 200 Roundup cases have been filed in Philadelphia, with several more expected. 

As with the Roundup MDL and state court lawsuits in California and Missouri, plaintiffs in the Philadelphia Roundup mass tort allege that their exposure to the herbicide’s ingredients, including glyphosate, caused them to develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). 

If any of the Philadelphia bellwether cases don’t go to trial, a backup case will replace it. 

According to Law.com, Philadelphia’s Complex Litigation Center became the center of Roundup mass torts in May 2022, in an order from Administrative Judge Lisette Shirdan-Harris. In addition to Monsanto, the cases name Nouryon, a suburban Philadelphia-based chemical producer, as a defendant. 

Meanwhile, the Roundup MDL has nearly 4,200 cases as of the end of June, a month that saw Bayer/Monsanto settling a false claims lawsuit with the state of New York for $7 million.
Also, in Roundup litigation, the Arkansas Supreme Court denied Monsanto's attempt to challenge a judge's order mandating the former CEO of Bayer to testify in a Roundup trial. 

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