Jury Finds Monsanto’s Roundup Likely Cause Of Cancer In 2nd Bay Area Man

"A jury in the first federal court trial of thousands of lawsuits by cancer victims against the manufacturer of the world’s most widely used herbicide found Tuesday that Monsanto’s Roundup was a likely cause of a Sonoma County man’s non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The six jurors deliberated for nearly four days after a two-week trial in San Francisco before agreeing unanimously that Edwin Hardeman, 70, had proven the herbicide was probably a “substantial factor” in causing the cancer with which he was diagnosed in 2015. Hardemen said he’d sprayed Roundup on his property for decades.

The jury returns Wednesday to hear evidence on whether Monsanto is legally responsible for Hardeman’s cancer and, if so, determine the amount of damages he should receive. The case is one of three “bellwether” trials scheduled before U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria and could establish guidelines for settlements of about 760 cases against Monsanto from around the nation that have been transferred to his court, and more than 10,000 pending elsewhere."

Bob Egelko reports for the San Francisco Chronicle March 19, 2019.

SEE ALSO:

"Monsanto Weedkiller Roundup Was ‘Substantial Factor’ in Causing Man’s Cancer, Jury Says" (New York Times)

"Second U.S. Jury Finds Bayer's Roundup Caused Cancer" (Reuters)