Judge denies plaintiffs’ attempt at gag order on Monsanto’s Roundup safety messaging
Northern California Record | Rich Peters
A judge presiding over the latest trial involving Monsanto’s Roundup has denied plaintiffs’ attempt at stifling the company’s messaging over the herbicide’s safety.
“Plaintiffs have not met their burden to show that Monsanto’s speech presents an actual threat of imminent prejudice to Plaintiffs’ right to a fair trial nor shown that there are no viable alternatives to a prior restraint on Monsanto’s speech,” Alameda County Superior Court Judge Winifred Smith ruled April 4.
Alva and Alberta Pilliod are the latest plaintiffs to take on Monsanto for its alleged carcinogenic glyphosate based product in a trial that got under way last week.
Their attorneys sought a motion for temporary injunction, attempting to halt any advertising by the defendant related to safety, testing and studies of Roundup.
Bayer, which acquired Monsanto last year, asserted that it clearly has a right to get its messages across to the public, just as plaintiff lawyers have “bombarded” the Bay Area with theirs.