{"id":61047,"date":"2017-12-20T19:42:03","date_gmt":"2017-12-20T19:42:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/organicconsumers.org\/?p=61047"},"modified":"2017-12-20T19:42:03","modified_gmt":"2017-12-20T19:42:03","slug":"50-san-francisco-roundup-lawsuits-filed-against-monsanto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/organicconsumers.org\/50-san-francisco-roundup-lawsuits-filed-against-monsanto\/","title":{"rendered":"50 San Francisco Roundup Lawsuits Filed Against Monsanto"},"content":{"rendered":"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/strong>
December 20, 2017<\/p>\n

Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, PC<\/p>\n

Los Angeles \u25cf Philadelphia \u25cf Washington, D.C.<\/em><\/p>\n

Contact: Robin McCall<\/strong><\/p>\n

Los Angeles Office<\/strong>
12100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 950
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Phone: (310) 207-3233
Email: rmccall@baumhedlundlaw.com<\/a>
Web: Monsanto Roundup Cases<\/a><\/p>\n

50 San Francisco Roundup Lawsuits Filed Against Monsanto<\/strong><\/p>\n

San Francisco, California, December 20, 2017 – –<\/strong> The law firms of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman and Kennedy & Madonna filed lawsuits against Monsanto Co. last week on behalf of 50 California residents who allege exposure to Monsanto\u2019s Roundup herbicide caused them to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma<\/a>.  <\/p>\n

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a> and Baum Hedlund attorneys Michael L. Baum<\/a>, R. Brent Wisner<\/a> and Frances M. Phares<\/a> filed the Roundup cancer lawsuits on Dec. 13 in San Francisco County Superior Court.<\/p>\n

The cases are:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Aiton v. Monsanto Company; Wilbur-Ellis Company LLC; and Wilbur-Ellis Feed LLC (Case No: CGC-17-563100)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Baker v. Monsanto Company; Wilbur-Ellis Company LLC; and Wilbur-Ellis Feed LLC (Case No: CGC-17-563101)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Behar v. Monsanto Company; Wilbur-Ellis Company LLC; and Wilbur-Ellis Feed LLC (Case No: CGC-17-563102)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Kohn v. Monsanto Company; Wilbur-Ellis Company LLC; and Wilbur-Ellis Feed LLC (Case No: CGC-17-563104)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Norris v. Monsanto Company; Wilbur-Ellis Company LLC; and Wilbur-Ellis Feed LLC (Case No: CGC-17-563105)<\/p>\n

The lawsuits seek compensatory and punitive damages for personal injuries against St. Louis, Missouri-based Monsanto Co. and Wilbur Ellis Company, LLC of San Francisco, California, which sold and distributed Monsanto products within the State of California.<\/p>\n

The lawsuits contain seven counts:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Strict Liability \u2013 Design Defect (Against All Defendants)<\/li>\n
  2. Strict Liability \u2013 Failure to Warn (Against All Defendants)<\/li>\n
  3. Negligence (Against All Defendants)<\/li>\n
  4. Fraud (Against Monsanto)<\/li>\n
  5. Breach of Express Warranties (Against Monsanto)<\/li>\n
  6. Breach of Implied Warranties (Against Monsanto)<\/li>\n
  7. Exemplary Damages (Against All Defendants)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Allegations in San Francisco Roundup Lawsuits<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup,<\/a> was initially patented in 1961 as a descaling and chelating agent used to clean out mineral and calcium deposits in pipes and broilers. In 1970, Monsanto discovered the herbicidal properties of glyphosate and began marketing it in 1974 under the brand name Roundup\u00ae.<\/p>\n

    On March 20, 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) issued an evaluation of glyphosate,<\/a> which traced the health implications from exposure to glyphosate going back to 2001. In its comprehensive report, IARC concluded that glyphosate is a probable human carcinogen (Group 2A), and that the cancers most associated with glyphosate exposure are non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other hematopoietic cancers. The IARC report also found that glyphosate exposure caused DNA and chromosomal damage in human cells, as well as genotoxic, hormonal and enzymatic effects in mammals.<\/p>\n

    The IARC report is significant because, according to the allegations, it confirmed what has been believed for years: that glyphosate is toxic to humans. Nevertheless, Monsanto marketed Roundup and glyphosate as safe for humans and the environment even though the company knew or should have known that Roundup posed a grave risk of harm, according to the allegations.<\/p>\n

    At one point, Monsanto advertised that Roundup was \u201csafer than table salt\u201d and \u201cpractically non-toxic,\u201d assertions that prompted the New York Attorney General (NYAG) to file a lawsuit against the company for false and misleading advertising. Following the NYAG lawsuit, Monsanto entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance in which the company agreed to, among other things, \u201ccease and desist from publishing or broadcasting any advertisements that represent, directly or by implication\u201d that glyphosate-based herbicides are safe, non-toxic, harmless or free from risk.<\/p>\n

    Among other things, the lawsuits allegations accuse Monsanto of engaging in the following to validate its false claim that Roundup is safe:<\/p>\n

    \u2022 Championing falsified data and attacking legitimate studies that revealed any health hazard associated with Roundup.<\/p>\n

    \u2022 Deliberately refusing to test Roundup products because the company knew that glyphosate and glyphosate-based formulations posed serious health risks to humans.<\/p>\n

    \u2022 Leading a prolonged campaign of misinformation to convince consumers and government agencies throughout the world that Roundup is not dangerous.<\/p>\n

    \u2022 Ghostwriting studies relied upon by consumers and regulators to assess the safety of glyphosate without disclosing its involvement.<\/p>\n

    \u2022 Ghostwriting editorials to advocate for the safety of glyphosate in newspapers and magazines without disclosing its involvement.<\/p>\n

    \u2022 Ghostwriting letters by supposedly independent scientists that were submitted to regulatory agencies charged with reviewing the safety of glyphosate.<\/p>\n

    \u2022 Violating federal regulations in holding secret ex parte meetings and conversations with certain Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employees to collude in a strategy to re-register glyphosate and to quash investigations into the carcinogenicity of glyphosate by other federal agencies.<\/p>\n

    Monsanto Roundup Litigation Moves Forward Across the Country<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The 50 newly filed Roundup lawsuits add to the growing number of cases Monsanto faces in federal and state courts. As of Dec. 2017, Monsanto faces more than 285 Roundup lawsuits in federal court before U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in Northern California. The lead case in the federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) is 3:16-md-02741-VC.<\/p>\n

    In March 2018, in the federal Roundup MDL<\/strong>, lawyers from the Plaintiffs and Defense side will participate in what is known in the legal community as \u201cScience Day\u201d or \u201cScience Week.\u201d This is where the two sides present their experts to educate the court on the science behind both sides of the Roundup cancer connection.<\/p>\n

    U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria will oversee a legal proceeding known as a Daubert hearing<\/strong>, where he will assure that scientific expert \u201clive\u201d testimony meets the \u201cscientific knowledge\u201d threshold needed at trial. Plaintiffs must show they have scientific proof to back their claims that Roundup\/glyphosate causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma.<\/p>\n