Two Cases Dismissed in Monsanto Roundup Multidistrict Litigation

Since the lawsuits against Monsanto (owned by Bayer AG) and its Roundup weed killer alleged to cause non-Hodgkin lymphoma were first consolidated into a multidistrict litigation back in 2016, the number of cases kept growing as the defendant company entered into settlement agreements with some and went to trial on others. Recently, in two separate orders issued by the presiding MDL judge, two of these pending cases have been dismissed – one for failure to prosecute and another for failing to respond to a summary judgment motion – suggesting that plaintiffs’ attorneys cannot manage the massive influx of litigation that has resulted since the creation of this MDL.

The Court’s Orders

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria, the judge presiding over the MDL in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California, In re: Roundup Products Liability Litigation, 3:16-md-02741, granted Monsanto’s summary judgment motion in a case brought by plaintiff Ricky Beavers, Jr. of Washington, the only MDL plaintiff represented by Charles Lewis Meyer (Beavers v. Bayer Co. et al., 3:20-cv-08799). Counsel for Beavers did not respond to the summary judgment motion, resulting in a win-by-text order for Monsanto.

Judge Chhabria also dismissed a case brought by plaintiff Kenneth Bull of Minnesota (Bull v. Monsanto Co., 3:22-cv-03380) represented by Charles H. Johnson of

Charles H. Johnson & Associates PA, who has also represented 150 current and former plaintiffs in this MDL. Bull’s case was dismissed for failure to prosecute, but it was dismissed without prejudice, leaving the plaintiff the opportunity to refile.

In another text order entered the same day, Judge Chhabria requested that the parties file case management statements addressing "whether plaintiffs' counsel is taking on more cases than they can actually litigate."

The court’s orders should come as no surprise in light of comments made by the judge during a virtual hearing a few weeks prior to the orders. During the June 6th hearing, which was held on a motion made by the McCune Law Group to withdraw as counsel for two plaintiffs, Judge Chhabria expressed concerns that plaintiffs’ counsel “had bitten off more than they could chew by bringing so many cases at once.” The judge also questioned the motives of counsel, suggesting that some firms might have taken on so many cases just to settle them inexpensively instead of litigating, resulting in neglect of their clients. However, Judge Chhabria was not sure whether he any authority to "do anything about it."

The MDL Numbers…So Far

When the MDL was first created in 2016, there were 21 lawsuits pending across 14 districts. Since then, more than 4,000 cases were transferred into the MDL. As of this month, 4,305 out of 4,882 lawsuits are pending. Between January and March of this year especially, there was a large increase of over 100 new cases added. Although the case numbers slowed a bit (about six cases in June), the MDL numbers are still on an upward trajectory.

The MDL plaintiffs are not the only litigated that have claimed Roundup weed killer (also known as glyphosate) has caused them to develop cancer. As of March 2024, there were still an estimated 54,000 active lawsuits against Monsanto across the country, despite Monsanto reaching $11 billion in settlements in almost 100,000 cases at the time.

With about two-thirds of its case settled, Monsanto has also been to trial with varying results. In June, a Philadelphia judge lowered the jury’s $2.25 billion verdict to $400 million. And in April, a Missouri court similarly reduced a $1.56 billion verdict to $611 million.

Bayer and Monsanto are represented by Jed P. White and Linda C. Hsu of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP and Jennise Walker-Stubbs and Anthony R. Martinez of Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP.