Roundup Bellwether Trial Delayed To February 2020

Roundup Bellwether Trial Delayed To February 2020

Introduction

On August 1, considering a request from the parties for deadline extensions, U.S District Judge Vince Chabbaria delayed the second Roundup bellwether trial to February 24, 2020, including several other deadlines in the process.

Following an $80 million award in the first bellwether trial that concluded in March 2019, Judge Chhabria set up a bellwether process where two “waves” of cases originally filed in certain states are being prepared for the final trial so that the cases can be sent back to the different U.S. District Courts, if the parties fail to reach a settlement or resolution for the litigation.

All the fact discovery for the second wave of cases, which includes claims originally filed in Illinois and North Carolina districts, will be completed by March 27, 2020. Judge Chhabria has ordered both parties to participate in a mediation process while preparing for the upcoming trials with attorney Ken Feinberg who has guided some major settlements in high profile litigations.

Currently, Bayer is facing more than 18,400 claims, each involving similar allegations that Roundup causes non- Hodgkin's lymphoma and other cancers. The lawsuits are consolidated under federal multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 2741; In Re: Roundup Products Liability Litigation) in the Northern District of California, presided by U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria.