California Physicians: Jury Disregarded Science in $289M Roundup Verdict
The Recorder | By Amanda Bronstad
A California jury that awarded a $289 million Roundup verdict disregarded science and the consensus of federal regulators and fell victim to “emotional manipulation,” according to the state’s doctors, farmers and biotech firm Genentech Inc., in amicus briefs filed in Monsanto’s appeal.
In three separate briefs, the California Farm Bureau Federation, the Civil Justice Association of California and Genentech sought to reverse the 2018 verdict against Monsanto, now owned by Bayer.
In a combined brief, the California Medical Association, the California Hospitals Association and the California Dental Association took no position on whether to toss the verdict. Instead, they cautioned, “the answer to complex scientific questions such as that which the jury was required to resolve in this case should be based on accepted scientific evidence and rigorous scientific reasoning, not speculation and emotion.”