Monsanto: Reversal of $185M Jury Award Could Wipe Out Other PCB Verdicts
Plaintiffs attorney Rick Friedman said he planned to petition the Washington Supreme Court to review an appeals court's May 1 decision. "Monsanto claiming it won this appeal is like Trump saying he won the 2020 election," he told Law.com.
May 17, 2024 at 01:36 PM
5 minute read
What You Need to Know
- The appeals court's ruling had the immediate impact of halting a planned May 20 trial that would have involved nine plaintiffs from two families.
- Bayer already has asked to set aside a $438 million judgment from a trial in which the jury originally awarded $857 million on Dec. 18.
- Jurors have issued verdicts in eight cases, ranging from $21.4 million to $857 million. One ended in a mistrial, and dozens more are planned.
A Washington Court of Appeals decision that reversed a $185 million verdict against Monsanto over PCBs earlier this month could wipe out much of the $1.6 billion in jury awards obtained over the past three years in the state of Washington.
The May 1 decision reversed the first verdict to come out of litigation in King County Superior Court brought by 200 students, teachers and parents at the Sky Valley Education Center alleging Monsanto, now owned by Bayer, was liable for exposing them to PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, from fluorescent light ballasts. They complained of headaches, fatigue and memory and neurological problems.
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