As lawyers gear up for another Roundup trial, now set to commence in Delaware, they are simultaneously grappling with last-minute challenges in the proposed Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) rule. The Trial is the latest in a series of major lawsuits surrounding the Roundup weed killer made by agribusiness giant Monsanto, now a unit of German chemical company Bayer AG, accused of causing cancer.
Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, has been a subject of controversy and multiple lawsuits across different countries. This controversy stems from a 2015 statement by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer that categorized glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
The latest trial in Delaware is yet another battleground for legal arguments over the health hazards of Roundup. Details about the case specifics have not been publicised, but it promises to be another significant chapter in the ongoing legal drama surrounding this herbicide.
At the same time, attorneys across the industry are tackling last-minute hitches with the proposed MDL rule. While it is currently unspecified which rule and what complications have arisen, legal professionals are widely aware that the MDL process is intended to increase efficiency by centralizing pretrial proceedings for related cases in federal courts.
These gatherings of lawyers who seldom share cleanly congruent interests can give rise to complex legal and strategic questions. As such, a change to the MDL rule can have significant implications for the conduct of multi-jurisdictional litigation, affecting everything from case management to settlement discussions.
For both matters, the Roundup trial in Delaware and the proposed MDL rule amendments, legal professionals globally will be carefully observing the processes and outcomes.
For more detailed coverage on these developing stories, please refer directly to the Law.com’s Critical Mass report.