Products Liability Law Reporter

For more than 30 years, Alva and Alberta Pilliod used Monsanto Co.’s Roundup weed killer while landscaping their home and other properties. Now in their 70s, they both have been diagnosed as having non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Alberta, whose fatal condition has spread to her brain, has incurred medical expenses exceeding $201,100. Alva, whose systemic condition has led to severe health complications, has incurred more than $47,200 in medical expenses.

The Pilliods sued Monsanto, alleging design defect, failure to warn, negligence, and negligent failure to warn. The plaintiffs argued that their non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnoses resulted from their exposure to Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate. The plaintiffs charged that the defendant fraudulently represented that its product was safe despite scientific evidence linking exposure to non-Hodgkin lymphoma and that the defendant also manipulated scientific literature, including ghostwriting several review papers on glyphosate.

The jury awarded over $2.05 billion, including $1 billion in punitive damages to each plaintiff. The court denied Monsanto’s motion for judgment n.o.v. and ordered a new trial unless Alva and Alberta consent to judgment totaling approximately $30.73 million and $56 million, respectively. The reduction includes punitive damages of approximately $24.58 million to Alva and $44.8 million to Alberta.

Citation: Pilliod v. Monsanto Co., No. RG17862702 (Cal. Super. Ct. Alameda Cnty. May 13, 2019).

Plaintiff counsel: Michael Miller, Curtis G. Hoke, David J. Dickens, and Jeffrey Travers, all of Orange, Calif.; AAJ members R. Brent Wisner, Michael L. Baum, and Pedram Esfandiary, all of Los Angeles; and AAJ member Mark Burton, San Francisco.