Jury awards $289.2 million to dying plaintiff in first Monsanto trial

SAN FRANCISCO -- A superior court jury on Friday awarded nearly $300 million to a dying man in the first, precedent-setting trial to allege that Monsanto Co.'s massively popular weedkillers cause cancer.

The San Francisco County Superior Court jury returned unanimous or near unanimous votes in favor of plaintiff Dewayne Johnson on every count.

The trial is the first of more than 4,000 cases nationwide to take Monsanto to trial on allegations that its glysophate-based weedkillers cause non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

While plaintiff's attorney Brent Wisner breathed a noticeable sigh of relief as Superior Court Judge Suzanne Bolanos read the jury's verdict, Johnson sat stone-faced and looking down. He flashed a smile to jurors as they left the courtroom.

Johnson alleged product liability and negligence, among other claims, and sought over $400 million -- about $40 million in compensatory damages and $372 million in punitive damages -- from the agrochemical company valued at over $6.6 billion.

Jurors awarded full compensatory damages and $250 million in punitive damages, for a total of $289.2 million.

Monsanto said it would appeal the verdict.

Johnson's attorneys argued that Monsanto's glyphosate-based herbicides, namely Roundup and Ranger Pro, cause non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Johnson v. Monsanto et. al., CGC-16-550128 (S.F. Super. Ct., filed Jan. 28, 2016).

"I think that should be a clear signal that the science is not shaky and that it's not weak -- that it's compelling and actually overwhelming," Wisner said after the verdict was announced.

Nine of the jurors convened with Johnson and plaintiff's attorneys in a conference room after the verdict was read, according to Wisner.

"That was an emotional room," he said. "Basically, everyone was crying."

Johnson started as Benicia Unified School District's groundkeeper in 2012 and was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2014.

Plaintiff's attorneys argued punitive damages should be substantial because Monsanto neglected to return Johnson's inquiries on whether his use of Roundup and Ranger Pro could have contributed to his cancer, aggravating his condition into a more aggressive type of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Mycosis Fungoides.

During closing arguments Aug. 7, plantiffs attorney Brent Wisner of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman told jurors that their verdict "will be heard around the world" -- that they have the opportunity to force Monsanto "to finally do something, conduct those studies they never conducted, and warn those people they never will."

Attorneys on both sides largely focused on key studies supporting their conclusions.

Plaintiff's attorneys pointed to the International Agency on Cancer Research's determination that glyphosate is a probable human carcinogen while defense attorneys argued that jurors should focus on the Agricultural Health Study, which followed thousands of pesticide applicators' health outcomes and concluded the opposite.

The defense maintained the Environmental Protection Agency, which hosted the Agricultural Health Study, is the most credible organization that studied the issue and that organizations such as the American Cancer Institute and various European regulatory agencies have been unable to conclude that glyphosate is a human carcinogen.

But plaintiff's attorney David Dickens of the Miller Firm and Wisner consistently argued that Monsanto scientists and executives had undue influence on the agency to steer its determinations on the link between glyphosate-based herbicides and cancer.

Monsanto was represented by Kirby Griffis, a partner at Hollingsworth LLP, George Lombardi of Winston & Strawn LLP and Sandra Edwards, a partner at Farella, Braun & Martel LLP.

After the verdict was announced Friday afternoon, a Monsanto executive stuck to the company's position that the EPA and other studies about its weedkillers are more reliable.

"Today's decision does not change the fact that more than 800 scientific studies and reviews -- and conclusions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. National Institutes of Health and regulatory authorities around the world -- support the fact that glyphosate does not cause cancer, and did not cause Mr. Johnson's cancer," said Monsanto Vice President Scott Partridge.

Plaintiff's attorneys tried to get additional email records, which would have further substantiated possible collusion between Monsanto and the Environmental Protection Agency, into evidence, but the defense argued they were too prejudicial.

"It was our advantage to show it and Monsanto's advantage to restrict it," said plaintiffs attorney Robert F. Kennedy of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman. "Monsanto drew a judge who was very comfortable restricting evidence we thought the jury should have seen."

Wisner said he was pleased with the verdict.

"We were finally able to show the jury the secret, internal Monsanto documents proving that Monsanto has known for decades that glyphosate and specifically Roundup could cause cancer," he said.

"Despite the Environmental Protection Agency's failure to require labeling, we are proud that an independent jury followed the evidence and used its voice to send a message to Monsanto that its years of deception regarding Roundup is over and that they should put consumer safety first over profits."