August 18, 2020 — Monsanto sought to reduce $4 million from the $20.5 owed to groundskeeper Dewayne “Lee” Johnson, but was rejected by the Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District of California. The appeals court also rejected Monsanto’s request for a rehearing.
In the court’s July ruling, it said that Johnson had presented “abundant” evidence that Monsanto’s herbicides cause cancer, including his own. However, the appeals court did reduce Johnson’s award. The jury that decided Johnson’s case ordered $289 million, which was reduced to $78 million by the trial judge. The appeals court further reduced the award to $20.5 million, and Monsanto additionally owes $519,000 in costs. Despite the multiple reductions, Monsanto still pushed for the award to be reduced to $16.5 million.
Reference: “Monsanto Roundup & Dicamba Trial Tracker.” U.S. Right to Know, 2 June 2020, https://usrtk.org/monsanto-roundup-trial-tracker-index/
