Bayer Files Motion to Bifurcate An Upcoming Roundup Trial

Introduction

On January 15, Bayer asked California Superior Judge Winifred Smith to split an upcoming Roundup trial involving claims filed by a couple linked to Roundup's alleged carcinogenic nature into two phases.

The scheme would bar the plaintiffs from presenting evidence related to Monsanto's involvement in manipulating public opinion and influencing regulators during the first phase of the trial. That evidence would be included in the second phase, which will begin only if the jury finds glyphosate was responsible for the plaintiffs' cancer. According to the lawsuit filed by the California couple, they both used Roundup on a regular basis between 1971 and 2011. While the man was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011, the same disease was detected in his wife in 2015. The couple sued Monsanto in 2017, alleging that exposure to glyphosate-containing Roundup was the reason for their cancer. The elderly couple was granted an expedited trial by Superior Court Judge Ioana Petrou last October, considering their short life expectancy and old age. Jury selection for the couple will begin on March 19, 2019. A hearing has been set for February 8, 2019, to discuss Bayer's motion for a bifurcated trial process.

There have been mixed reactions to Roundup’s alleged cancer side-effect around the world. Bayer's license to market Roundup Pro 360 was canceled in France while in Canada farmers continue to use the weed-killer after Health Canada declared that glyphosate does not pose any risk to humans. Judge Vince Chhabria overlooks the Roundup multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 2741; In Re: Roundup Products Liability Litigation) in the U.S. District Court, of Northern District of California.

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