September 24, 2020 — A hearing was held regarding the Roundup litigation on this date, and both lawyers for Bayer and for plaintiffs in the Roundup litigation have stated that progress is being made in settling the litigation. Bayer lawyer William Hoffman informed U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria that the company is close to reaching deals and had already reached deals to resolve over 3,000 lawsuits in the Roundup MDL. Bayer has reportedly settled thousands of cases outside of the MDL, such as cases in state courts. However, Bayer is facing allegations that it has backed away from agreements the company made months ago.
Despite the allegations, both sides spoke positively in the hearing. Hoffman stated that, “There are approximately 1,750 cases that are subject to agreements between the company and law firms and another approximately 1,850 to 1,900 cases that are in various stages of discussion right now.” Plaintiffs’ lawyer Brent Wisner said it was important to note that there are a “handful of cases” in the MDL that have not settled yet. On that matter, he said, “We anticipate they will be shortly.”
Due to the progress reported at the hearing, Judge Chhabria said that he will continue a stay of the Roundup litigation until November 2. After that date, his plan is to move cases to trial if they are not settled
.Reference: “Monsanto Roundup & Dicamba Trial Tracker.” U.S. Right to Know, 2 June 2020, https://usrtk.org/monsanto-roundup-trial-tracker-index/
