A bench trial that had been set to start Monday in St. Clair County Associate Judge Kevin Hoerner's court on claims that weed killer paraquat caused four plaintiffs to suffer Parkinson’s disease has been continued to June 1.
While a motion for continuance and the order granting it are not yet posted on the court docket, Courtroom View Network (CVN) reported over the weekend that the case had been reset.
Defendant manufacturer Syngenta released a statement Monday afternoon saying the "court and the parties have agreed to postpone the start of the trial to accommodate scheduling and logistical issues."
CVN livestreams trials in state courts across the country. The case in Hoerner's court brought by lead plaintiffs Thomas and Diana Hoffman will be CVN's first gavel-to-gavel video coverage of a civil proceeding in Illinois state court, it reported. Trial is expected to last six weeks.
Thomas Hoffman, a farmer, died at age 63 in 2017. His lawsuit claims he developed Parkinson's after decades of exposure to paraquat.
Defendants also include Chevron Phillips Chemical Company and Growmark Inc. They maintain paraquat is safe.
Plaintiffs are represented by attorney Stephen Tillery and others at his firm, as well as the California-based firm Walkup Melodia Kelly & Schoenberger and Belleville attorney Bob Sprague.
Syngenta is represented by attorneys from Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago and Washington, D.C., along with attorneys at Donavan Rose Nester in Belleville.
Chevron is represented by attorneys from Husch Blackwell in St. Louis and Kansas City, along with the New Orleans-based firm Forman Watkins & Krutz.
Growmark is represented by Chicago-based attorneys from Steptoe & Johnson and Heyl Royster Voelker & Allen.