Plaintiff’s lawyer accuses Monsanto of covering up weedkiller’s cancer connection

SAN FRANCISCO -- A day after a federal jury returned the second unanimous finding that exposure to Monsanto's signature weedkiller causes cancer, a plaintiff's attorney on Wednesday argued the company, over decades of tampering, successfully influenced the state of the science on Roundup.

A Monsanto attorney responded by portraying the other side as working in bad faith to prove suspect allegations of misconduct and urged jurors to consider the "full picture."

"Don't let them cherry pick statements," said defense attorney Brian Stekloff of Wilkinson, Walsh & Eskovitz. "Demand full context be given."

A six-person jury on Tuesday found Bayer AG-owned Monsanto liable for causing plaintiff Edwin Hardeman's cancer in the initial phase of whether Roundup causes Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and if it specifically caused the 70-year-old man's condition.

Hardeman is seeking $200,000 in economic damages. The jurors will now consider allegations of misconduct and whether additional damages are warranted.

Plaintiff's attorney Aimee H. Wagstaff was mindful Wednesday of the 7.5 hours she has remaining to present her case and made a concise opening statement. She said internal company documents and emails she plans to present will show a concerted effort to meddle with regulatory agencies over the safety of Roundup.

Monsanto, led by company toxicologist Donna Farmer, ghostwrote studies and represented the findings as conducted by independent scientists, according to the Andrus Anderson partner.

A 2000 study in favor of Monsanto's position was "built into" subsequent studies looking at the association between glyphosate and cancer. A later paper cited the allegedly ghostwritten conclusion as "significant to its findings."

Wagstaff ended her opening remarks by reminding jurors the company has a net worth of $7.8 billion with $2.4 billion in cash on hand.

Hardeman's lawsuit is the first of three test cases in the consolidated litigation before U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria of San Francisco to go to trial. In re: Roundup Liability Litigation, 16-MD02741 (N.D. Cal., filed Oct. 4, 2016).

Monsanto attorneys won a major pretrial battle, persuading Chhabria to bifurcate the trial, but lost the first phase on specific causation.

Bayer is facing roughly 11,200 lawsuits -- up from 9,300 at the end of October -- alleging glyphosate-based products cause cancer, according to a Bayer spokesperson.

Monsanto disputed the jury's finding of liability in the first causation phase has any impact on future cases or settlement discussions because "each one has its own factual and legal circumstances."

Both sides started with 32 hours to present their cases. The defense has 18.5 hours left.

Stekloff, in his opening remarks, hammered home Roundup is the "most studied herbicide in the world," adding Monsanto "is not hiding anything" and has conducted decades of testing on glyphosate.

Responding to allegations of impropriety from plaintiff's attorneys over an email from Farmer in which she said Monsanto "has not done the necessary testing on [Roundup]," Stekloff said the other side intentionally withheld context to make the statement appear more compelling.

Farmer was clarifying to company employees that "we have tested the formulation but not as much as the active ingredient," so they do not misrepresent Monsanto's position, he continued.

"This is not a popularity contest," Stekloff said to wrap up his opening remarks.

Testimony continued Tuesday with the depositions of two Monsanto executives.

In one exchange concerning an email from Monsanto's chief of regulatory science in which he writes it is critical to move a company scientist, James Parry, from his "position" that glyphosate is potentially capable of causing cancer, Wagstaff asked former Monsanto Europe Toxicology Agriculture Researcher Mark Martens about what happened after the discussion.

Parry recommended Monsanto conduct eight further studies to better understand the association between Roundup and cancer.

"The email says 'we simply aren't going to do the studies Parry suggests,' correct,'" Wagstaff asked.

"That's what he says," responded Martens, adding some of the studies were done but not published in any peer-reviwed journals.

The email from the Monsanto executive to Farmer also asks what it would take to persuade Parry to change his conclusion, with Parry's name followed by dollar signs in parenthesis.

Monsanto attorneys have maintained the company has done every study focusing on the potential health effects of glyphosate and Roundup ever requested of it.

Testimony continues Friday.