UPDATED NOVEMBER 8, 2023
The legal industry publication Law360 is providing continuous coverage of the ongoing litigation filed against the chemical giant formerly known as Monsanto. Now known as Pharmacia LLC, the company has been sued multiple times by Washington State plaintiffs’ attorneys, including attorneys at PCVA, for exposing former teachers and students at Sky Valley Education Center in Monroe, Washington, to toxic PCBs, resulting in severe illnesses, years of suffering and diminished quality of lives. The lawsuits allege that the exposures occurred due to leaky fluorescent light ballasts.
In a story published on July 24, 2023, Law360 called Monsanto’s attempts to appeal seven jury verdicts, currently totaling about $700 million, one of the top cases to watch in Washington State for the second half of 2023. At issue in the appeal is whether the trial court erred in applying a state law from Monsanto’s home state of Missouri to sidestep Washington State law, which has a 12-year statute of repose and does not allow punitive damages. The case is Erickson et al. v. Pharmacia LLC. In July, PCVA and Friedman Rubin had obtained a $72 million verdict against the chemical giant on behalf two clients, who both sustained permanent injuries due to the PCB chemical exposure. More information about that case is available here.
Law360 also is providing routine coverage of another lawsuit against the former Monsanto company filed by PCVA and Friedman Rubin, which marks the eighth trial in King County Superior Court involving claims brought against Monsanto-related entities by teachers and students alleging toxic exposure to PCBs. Below is a list of all Law360 coverage about this case to date:
- Monsanto Docs Show It Knew PCB Risks, Wash. Jury Hears (9/19/23)
- Monsanto’s ‘Safe Level’ PCB Defense Contested At Wash. Trial (9/20/23)
- Monsanto’s Track Record On PCB Warnings Debated At Trial (9/21/23)
- Monsanto Bid To Nix Deposition From PCB Trial Irks Judge (9/22/23)
- Monsanto’s 1971 PCB Study Had Fake Data, Seattle Jury Told (9/25/23)
- Monsanto PCBs Didn’t Show Up In Testing, Seattle Jury Told (9/26/23)
- Monsanto Questions Relevance Of PCB Rat Research At Trial (9/27/23)
- Monsanto Spinoff’s Expert Says PCB Plaintiffs Look Healthy (10/26/23)
- PCBs Didn’t Cause Brain Damage in Wash. Case, Jury Told (10/30/23)
- Monsanto’s Spinoff’s Expert Denies Honing Trial Defense (11/1/23)
- Monsanto Spinoff Blames Poor Air in PCB Trial’s Final Hours (11/2/23)
- Monsanto Spinoff Owes Wash. Teachers Over $47M, Jury Told (11/6/23)