61 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 131 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
Exclusive to OpEd News:
OpEdNews Op Eds    H4'ed 3/19/19

Monsanto CA Judge Worked for Firm That Defended Monsanto's Bovine Growth Hormone; 3rd Trial starting March 25

By       (Page 7 of 8 pages) Become a premium member to see this article and all articles as one long page.   1 comment
Message Stephen Fox
Become a Fan
  (31 fans)

Judge Chhabria said last week that he would like to see this first phase of the trial wrapped up early this week, meaning the case should be with the jury soon. A verdict requires all six jurors to be unanimous in their finding regarding whether or not Hardeman's exposure to Roundup "was a substantial factor" in causing his cancer. The judge will define for jurors what that means. (See Friday's entry for more details.)

If the jury does not unanimously decide either for Hardeman or Monsanto then the case would be a mistrial. Chhabria has also said that if that happens he is considering retrying it in May.

If the jury finds for Hardeman on causation, the trial would quickly move into Phase II using the same jury. And that is where things will really start to get interesting. Hardeman's attorneys plan to call several Monsanto executives for testimony, including former Monsanto Chairman and CEO Hugh Grant. Grant spent more than 35 years at the company and was named CEO in 2003. He led the company until its acquisition by Bayer AG last summer.

Additionally, lawyers for Hardeman plan to call Roger McClellan, editor of the scientific journal Critical Reviews in Toxicology(CRT), which published a series of papers in September 2016 that rebuked the finding by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) finding that glyphosate was a probable human carcinogen. The papers purported to be written by independent scientists who found that the weight of evidence showed the weed killer was unlikely to pose any carcinogenic risk to people.

However, internal Monsanto documents show that the papers were

conceptualized from the outset as a strategy by Monsanto to discredit IARC. One of Monsanto's top scientists not only reviewed the manuscripts but had a hand in drafting and editing them, though that was not disclosed by CRT.

Hardeman's lawyers additionally said they plan to call Doreen Manchester, of Croplife America, the agrochemical industry's lobbying organization. Manchester's role at CropLife has been helping "lead federal and state litigation to support pesticide regulatory issues."

March 8, 2019 Phase 1 Nears End, Judge Ponders Jury Instructions

Lawyers for plaintiff Edwin Hardeman rested their case on Friday, giving Monsanto a turn to put on its own witnesses in this first phase of the case.

Judge Chhabria has indicated he would like to see the first phase of the trial wrapped up by early next week, and he has ordered attorneys for both sides to be ready to discuss and debate two proposed sets of instructions for him to give the jury for deliberations regarding the definition of "causation."

For Hardeman's case to be allowed to proceed to a Phase 2 in which damages could be awarded, the group of six jurors must be unanimous in finding that Roundup caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma, so the judge's instructions about how the element of causation is defined is a critical point.

The judge's first option reads as follows: "To prevail on the question of medical causation, Mr. Hardeman must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that Roundup was a substantial factor in causing his non

Hodgkin's lymphoma. A substantial factor is a factor that a reasonable person would consider to have contributed to the harm. It must be more than a remote or trivial factor.If you conclude that Mr. Hardeman has proven that his exposure to Roundup was a substantial factor in causing his NHL, then you should find for Mr. Hardeman even if you believe that other risk factors were substantial factors as well."

The judge's second option has the same first three lines as the first option but then adds this: "Conduct is not a substantial factor in causing harm if the same harm would have occurred without that conduct."

Option 2 also changes the last line of the instruction to say: "However, if you conclude that Mr. Hardeman has proven that his exposure to Roundup was sufficient on its own to cause his NHL, then you should find for Mr. Hardeman even if you believe that other risk factors were also sufficient to cause his NHL."

A big part of Monsanto's defense is to suggest that other factors could be the cause of Hardeman's cancer, including a struggle with hepatitis C. Hardeman's team has said that he was cured in 2006 of hepatitis C but Monsanto's team argues that cell damage from the hepatitis was a potential contributor to his cancer.

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Valuable 2   Must Read 1   News 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

Stephen Fox Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in


Early in the 2016 Primary campaign, I started a Facebook group: Bernie Sanders: Advice and Strategies to Help Him Win! As the primary season advanced, we shifted the focus to advancing Bernie's legislation in the Senate, particularly the (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

NYC Council "STANDS UNITED" WITH N.DAKOTA PROTESTERS, 2 new videos of police using pepper spray and rubber bullets

Bernie Meets with LA Times Editorial Board (this is the complete transcript!)

Mirena Interuterine Devices can cause Depression, Mood swings, Acne, Back Pain, Uterine Cysts, and Uterine Perforations

What does Coca Cola's Dasani bottled water have in common with Death by Lethal Injection?

CA Exit Polls reveal 23% Discrepancy; 11 States With Vote "Flipping" Evidence; Our New Directions in American History?

In the California Primary, More Ballots Remain Uncounted than the Total Number of votes for Hillary Clinton!

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend