Outcry over planned agreement by Bayer AG in Monsanto Roundup cancer lawsuits grows
Cancer victims criticize settlement proposal that would enable the sale of cancer-causing herbicides and protect Bayer AG from future cancer lawsuits
SAN FRANCISCO, March 5, 2021 / PRNewswire / – Cancer victims urge a federal judge overseeing thousands of Roundup cancer lawsuits against weed killers to reject a proposed settlement that would allow the glyphosate-based herbicide to stay on store shelves while keeping Bayer AG (OTCMKTS: BAYRY) lawsuits to protect against future cancers.
A motion filed by trial lawyers on Thursday Dallas-based Fears Nachawati Law Firm highlights the growing criticism of the lawyers of some plaintiffs who have already negotiated with Bayer AG in order to obtain favorable settlements for their existing clients that – based on the proposed settlement – are not available for as yet undiagnosed individuals would be.
According to the settlement proposal described in the motion as a “one-way street”, which only benefits Bayer, persons who filed a cancer lawsuit after February 3, 2021 cannot participate in class actions and seek punitive damages in a legal dispute. Instead, they would be limited to compensation based on a tiered formula.
Plaintiffs challenging the settlement include three people who were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after exposure to Roundup and who had not filed a lawsuit 3 February.
“It is basically unfair and contradicts basic safeguards to force someone to opt out if they have no idea what their circumstances might be in the event of a violation,” the motion said.
“This proposed settlement is opposed by those familiar with litigation in dangerous product cases like Roundup because they recognize that this proposal would benefit Monsanto and class advocates at the expense of the millions of people exposed to Roundup,” it said in the application. “This is not a real lawsuit, but an attempt to create an alternative dispute settlement mechanism in the form of a class action lawsuit.”
“There is no valid reason the class is limited to those who have already been exposed if Monsanto has no intention of stopping Roundup sales or changing its composition so that thousands of people continue to be at risk of contracting . ” [non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma] from roundup to postFebruary 3, 2021 Exposure. If this were a real lawsuit, why would any class representative (or class council) set a completely artificial deadline and not include everyone who will face Roundup in the future? “
The Multiple District Litigation (MDL) is In Re Roundup Products liability disputes, File Number 3: 16-md-02741, in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
Dallas-based law firm Fears Nachawati represents more than 4,000 individual plaintiffs in active litigation against Bayer and continues to investigate new claims on behalf of individuals who have become ill after contacting Roundup. For the past three years, the firm has been number one nationwide for product liability claims in federal courts. Further information can be found at https://www.fnlawfirm.com/.
Contact:
Robert Tharp
Androvett Legal Media
214-458-4007
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SOURCE fears Nachawati law firm