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 The latest lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Delaware Superior Court by
three law firms representing three plaintiffs.
The lawsuit is similar to others filed last month in New York and
California accusing Monsanto of long knowing that the main
ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, was hazardous to human health.
Monsanto "led a prolonged campaign of misinformation to convince
government agencies, farmers and the general population that Roundup
was safe," the lawsuit states.
The litigation follows the World Health Organization's declaration
in March that there was sufficient evidence to classify glyphosate
as "probably carcinogenic to humans."
"We can prove that Monsanto knew about the dangers of glyphosate,"
said Michael McDivitt, whose Colorado-based law firm is putting
together cases for 50 individuals. "There are a lot of studies
showing glyphosate causes these cancers."
The firm held town hall gatherings in August in Kansas, Missouri,
Iowa and Nebraska seeking clients.
Monsanto said the WHO classification is wrong and that glyphosate is
among the safest pesticides on the planet.
"Glyphosate is not a carcinogen," company spokeswoman Charla Lord
said in an emailed statement. "The most extensive worldwide human
health databases ever compiled on an agricultural product contradict
the claims in the suits."
Roundup is used by farmers, homeowners and others around the globe
and brought Monsanto $4.8 billion in revenue in its fiscal 2015. But
questions about Roundup's safety have dogged the company for years.
Attorneys who have filed or are eying litigation cited strong
evidence that links glyphosate to non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). They
said claims will likely be pursued collaboratively as mass tort
actions.
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To find plaintiffs, the Baltimore firm of Saiontz & Kirk advertises
a "free Roundup lawsuit evaluation" on its website. The Washington,
D.C. firm Schmidt & Clark is doing the same, as are other firms in
Texas, Colorado and California.
One plaintiff in the Delaware lawsuit, Joselin Barrera, 24, a child
of migrant farm workers, claims her non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is
related to glyphosate exposure. Elias de la Garza, a former migrant
farm worker and landscaper diagnosed with NHL, has a similar claim.
Both live in Texas.
The third plaintiff is Judi Fitzgerald, a horticultural worker
diagnosed with leukemia in 2012. The Virginia resident joined the
Delaware case after asking for dismissal of a similar lawsuit
initially filed in federal court in New York.
Monsanto is also fending off claims over its past manufacturing of
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which the WHO classifies as known
carcinogens.
At least 700 lawsuits against Monsanto or Monsanto-related entities
are pending, brought by law firms on behalf of people who claim
their non-Hodgkin lymphoma was caused by exposure to PCBs that the
company had manufactured until the late 1970s.
(Reporting by Carey Gillam in Kansas City, Missouri; Editing by
Richard Chang)
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