|
 Feinberg has been instructed to meet with lawyers for Bayer and
plaintiffs within the next 14 days, U.S. District Judge Vince
Chhabria in San Francisco said during a court hearing on Wednesday.
Chhabria, who oversees some 900 federal Roundup lawsuits, on April
11 ordered the parties to start confidential mediation. He appointed
Feinberg after the parties failed to agree on a mediator.
Feinberg is well known for having facilitated dispute resolutions in
high-stakes litigations in the past. He led mediation talks over the
September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, the BP Deepwater Horizon
disaster, Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal and General Motors
ignition switch litigation.
Chhabria on Wednesday also scheduled the next federal Roundup trial
for February 2020. The case would mark the second bellwether, or
test trial, to help determine the range of damages and define
settlement options for federal cases.
The judge also wants to prepare some 20 cases currently pending
before him for trial and send them to other courts across the
country.
More than 13,400 plaintiffs nationwide allege Roundup caused
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and that the company failed to warn about
that risk. The majority of lawsuits are pending in state courts
across the country.
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Bayer, which acquired Roundup maker Monsanto in a $63 billion deal
last year, denies the allegations, saying studies and regulators
have deemed glyphosate and Roundup safe for human use.
The company in the past said it would comply with Chhabria's
mediation order in good faith, while believing strongly in the
"extensive body of reliable science supporting the safety of
Roundup."
Bayer has also said it would defend itself in all cases and await
the appeals process underway for the three cases that have gone to
trial and resulted in jury verdicts against it.
A California jury on May 13 awarded $2 billion to a couple alleging
Roundup caused their cancer.
In March, a federal jury in San Francisco awarded $80 million to a
California man after finding Roundup caused his cancer.
That decision came after another California jury in August 2018
awarded $289 million to a groundskeeper in the first U.S. Roundup
trial. That award was later reduced to $78 million.
(Reporting by Tina Bellon in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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