After California Verdicts, Australian Law Firms Consider Class-Action Against Roundup Maker
The state government of Victoria is also launching an investigation into the use of RoundUp's active ingredient—glyphosate. The moves follow a $2 billion punitive damages verdict in California in May against Roundup manufacturer Monsanto.
June 03, 2019 at 01:18 PM
2 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
In light of three consecutive verdicts totaling $2.2 billion in the Nothern California linking the weed killer Roundup to cancer, two Australian firms are now considering filing lawsuits against Roundup manufacturer Monsanto Co.. Meanwhile, the government in the Australian state of Victoria is launching an investigation into the use of glyphosate, the most commonly used herbicide globally and the main ingredient of Roundup.
Sydney-based LHD Lawyers is considering a class action against Monsanto, which German pharmaceutical giant Bayer A.G. acquired in June of last year for $63 billion, while local media reports say Melbourne-based Maurice Blackburn is evaluating individual cases.
Meanwhile, the Victoria state government is investigating the use of glyphosate, including that by Roundup, across its public land management, according to Melbourne-based newspaper The Age. The investigation, which is being conducted by Victoria's Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, is expected to last six weeks. It is the first by an Australian state government in the wake of a series of verdicts in U.S. courts, according to the newspaper.
The developments come about three weeks after Monsanto was hit with a $2.05 billion punitive damages verdict by a jury in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland, California—the largest U.S. jury verdict so far against the company over glyphosate's linkage to a form of blood cancer. Previously, Monsanto was struck initially with a $289 million verdict in August, though that was reduced to $78.5 million; and $80 million in March, both in San Francisco.
Bayer said it will appeal the $2.05 billion verdict.
Globally, a number of countries and jurisdictions have either banned the use of glyphosate or have restricted its use. These include Belgium, France, Italy, Canada, Argentina, Colombia, the Czech Republic and Denmark.
Related Stories:
Monsanto Hit With $2B in Punitives in Oakland Roundup Trial
Monsanto Hit With $289M Verdict Over Roundup Weed Killer
Monsanto Hit With $80M Verdict in First Federal Roundup Trial
Bayer Bets on Appeals, More Trials Following $2B Roundup Verdict
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllBuchalter Hires Longtime Sheppard Mullin Real Estate Partner as Practice Chair
Reality TV Couple and Pacific Palisades Neighbors Sue City of Los Angeles Over Loss of Homes to Fire
3 minute readIn Resolved Lawsuit, Jim Walden Alleged 'Retaliatory' Silencing by X of His Personal Social Media Account
No Two Wildfires Alike: Lawyers Take Different Legal Strategies in California
5 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Treasury GC Returns to Davis Polk to Co-Chair White-Collar Defense and Investigations Practice
- 2Decision of the Day: JFK to Paris Stowaway's Bail Revocation Explained
- 3Doug Emhoff, Husband of Former VP Harris, Lands at Willkie
- 4LexisNexis Announces Public Availability of Personalized AI Assistant Protégé
- 5Some Thoughts on What It Takes to Connect With Millennial Jurors
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250