Monsanto Roundup Lawsuit

Wisner Baum and Co-Counsel Defeat Monsanto in First Three Roundup Trials

We and The Miller Firm are the only attorneys in America to successfully defeat Monsanto in multiple trials. Our firm served on the trial teams in Johnson v. Monsanto Co., Hardeman v. Monsanto Co., and Pilliod v. Monsanto Co., which resulted in over $2.4 billion in combined jury verdicts.

Pilliod v. Monsanto Co.

After years of spraying Roundup weed killer, Alva and Alberta Pilliod both developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The California couple filed a Roundup lawsuit alleging design defect and failure to warn against Monsanto. The Miller Firm asked us to partner with them in conducting the trial for the Pilliods. Roundup lawyer R. Brent Wisner served as co-lead trial counsel, with Michael L. Baum and Pedram Esfandiary also serving on the trial team, among others.

On May 13, 2019, the jury awarded Alberta over $37 million in compensatory damages and awarded Alva over $18 million in compensatory damages. The jury also awarded the couple $2 billion in punitive damages. The jury trial was completed over roughly six weeks.

The trial court conditionally denied Monsanto’s motion for a new trial, contingent on the Pilliods accepting reduced compensatory and punitive damages worth $87 million in total. The Pilliods accepted the reduced damages.

Monsanto appealed the decision, but the Court of Appeals upheld the reduced verdict in 2021. The California Supreme Court later denied Monsanto’s request for further review of the Court of Appeals’ decision.

In 2022, Monsanto asked the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to review the verdict. On June 27, 2022, SCOTUS denied the petition for a writ of certiorari.

“After years of racking up loss after loss in this case, Monsanto can no longer avoid responsibility for the unspeakable harm they have caused Alva and Alberta Pilliod,” said Roundup lawyer R. Brent Wisner. “The high court’s decision is further proof that Monsanto’s only path in this litigation is through the trial courts, which is the way it should be. I am personally looking forward to trying a case against Monsanto this fall in California, my first since the Pilliod trial. Despite Monsanto’s recent victories, I am confident that our team can repeat the success we enjoyed in the first three Roundup trials.”

Hardeman v. Monsanto Co.

Edwin Hardeman filed a Roundup lawsuit alleging the weed killer caused his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma through his attorneys Jennifer Moore and Aimee Wagstaff. His lawsuit against Monsanto was the first federal Roundup cancer lawsuit to proceed to trial before U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria. Attorneys Moore and Wagstaff asked our firm to help them conduct the trial for Mr. Hardeman. Roundup attorneys R. Brent Wisner, Michael L. Baum, and Pedram Esfandiary served on the trial team.

On March 27, 2019, a jury awarded Edwin Hardeman $5,267,634.10 in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitive damages. The district court later reduced the jury's punitive damages award to $20 million.

On May 14, 2021, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's judgment in favor of Mr. Hardeman. Months later, Monsanto submitted a petition for a writ of certiorari with SCOTUS. Several amicus briefs were subsequently filed, including one from the Justice Department saying Monsanto’s writ of certiorari should be denied.

On June 22, 2022, SCOTUS denied Monsanto’s petition for a writ of certiorari, allowing Mr. Hardeman’s final judgment of $25.2 million to remain intact.

“The decision is not surprising, but it is welcomed,” said Roundup lawyer R. Brent Wisner. “Monsanto will never get the ‘magic’ preemption bullet it hoped for. This litigation will continue to be fought in the trial courts, in front of juries, like it should be.”

Johnson v. Monsanto Co.