[ad_1]
DOSSIER – This January 26, 2017 archive photo shows the containers of Roundup, a weed killer made by Monsanto, on a shelf at a Los Angeles hardware store. A $ 289-million verdict from the San Francisco jury in favor of a school gardener who says the Roundup killer, who causes cancer, will face his first test of justice. The food giant, Monsanto, will argue at a hearing Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018 that Judge Suzanne Bolanos should overturn the verdict in favor of DeWayne Johnson. (Reed Saxon, File / Associated Press)
SAN FRANCISCO – $ 289 million verdict against Monsanto (local time):
4:50 p.m.
A judge still decides whether to uphold a $ 289-million jury ruling against food giant Monsanto.
Justice Suzanne Bolanos of the Superior Court of San Francisco ended a two-hour hearing without a formal decision. Earlier in the day, it issued a preliminary ruling stating its intention to reject the jury's $ 250 million award of punitive damages and hold a new trial on this issue. The judge also suggested that she reduce the rest of the $ 31 million compensation if she upheld the jury's decision that Monsanto's weed killer had caused DeWayne Johnson's cancer.
The judge ordered the lawyers to submit written legal arguments by Friday and will formally pronounce later.
In August, a jury awarded Johnson $ 39 million in compensatory damages and $ 250 million in punitive damages.
___
16h
A judge said that the lawyer of a cancer patient misled the jury and used inappropriate hyperbole comparing Monsanto to tobacco companies during his oral argument.
Lawyers on both sides are arguing Wednesday in court to see if the inappropriate arguments allowed Monsanto to participate in a new trial.
Monsanto's lawyer, George Lombardi, has argued for a new trial, saying the comparison between Monsanto and the tobacco industry was intentional and inaccurate. Tobbaco companies have agreed to pay billions of dollars to settle lawsuits alleging smoking as a cause of cancer. Johnson's attorney, Michael Miller, argued that the judge ordered the jury to disregard the comparison and rescind their verdict because of the argument of a harsher sentence.
The judge is deciding whether to dismiss the jury's decision for a new trial.
___
1:55 p.m.
In a preliminary ruling, a San Francisco judge announced that she would order a new trial in the context of a $ 289-million judgment against Monsanto's food giant, made by a gardener. who said the Roundup killer had caused his cancer.
Judge Suzanne Bolanos of the Superior Court of San Francisco made her decision Wednesday before the closing arguments.
She stated that the plaintiff DeWayne Johnson had failed to produce "clear and convincing evidence of malice or oppression" from Monsanto. She wrote that he had not provided any evidence that Monsanto employees thought the exposure to the product was causing her lymphoma.
In August, the jury awarded Johnson $ 39 million in compensatory damages and $ 250 million in punitive damages.
___
10:05
A $ 289-million verdict from the San Francisco jury in favor of a school gardener who says the Roundup killer, who causes cancer, will face his first test of justice.
The food giant, Monsanto, will declare at a hearing Wednesday that Judge Suzanne Bolanos should overturn the verdict in favor of DeWayne Johnson. The company's lawyers said Johnson did not prove that Roundup or similar herbicides were the cause of his lymphoma and had not presented any evidence of the malice of Monsanto executives in Roundup marketing. Bolanos was not supposed to rule immediately.
Johnson's lawyers responded in the court documents that the jury was attentive and educated and had made a reasonable verdict.
In August, the jury awarded Johnson $ 39 million in compensatory damages and $ 250 million in punitive damages.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
[ad_2]
Source link
