EAST ST. LOUIS - Another plaintiff in national litigation of claims that weed killer paraquat causes Parkinson’s disease closed a case rather than testify about it.
Ronnie Bowen of Tennessee voluntarily moved to dismiss the case two days after Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel ordered his deposition.
Ten of 34 plaintiffs she selected for scrutiny this year have dismissed their claims.
Rosenstengel presides over more than 5,000 suits against paraquat producer Syngenta and former producer Chevron by appointment of a judicial panel in Washington.
She planned six jury trials starting last October to shape global settlement.
She selected trial plaintiffs, and two of them voluntarily dismissed their claims last May.
She found they dismissed due to evidentiary issues and she expressed concern about implausible or far fetched theories.
“Given the current size of the litigation and the pace of filings, the court would like to identify such cases now rather than letting them remain on the docket indefinitely,” she wrote.
Syngenta counsel Ragan Naresh of Chicago moved for docket control in June.
He claimed some plaintiffs didn’t have Parkinson’s disease.
Naresh claimed some alleged they used paraquat in dry mix or premixed, which defendants never sold.
He also claimed some alleged they used it where it wasn’t permitted such as school grounds.
He added that some alleged they used it before 1964, when paraquat came to the market.
At a hearing in August, Rosenstengel vacated the trial schedule and directed the parties to continue cleaning the docket.
Plaintiffs dismissed 12 cases per week but not enough for Rosenstengel.
On Jan. 22, she stated she remained concerned that a significant number of plaintiffs did not plausibly allege exposure.
Rosenstengel selected 25 plaintiffs for depositions, set a March 22 deadline, and ordered a joint summary of each deposition within 14 days.
She granted third party discovery where plaintiffs who didn’t hold paraquat licenses claimed their employers exposed them.
She stated that if there was no good faith basis to sue, she’d consider imposing costs and fees.
She added that she might order more depositions.
Nine of the 25 plaintiffs dismissed their claims in two weeks.
They reinforced Rosenstengel’s concerns, according to an order she entered on Feb. 7.
Rosenstengel selected Ronnie Bowen and eight more replacements and stated she’d continue replacing those who dismiss claims.
Patrick McAndrew of Pulaski Kehrkehr in Dallas filed Bowen’s suit last February, alleging direct exposure while Bowen did farm work from 1967 to 1978.
McAndrew wrote, “On numerous occasions, paraquat came into contact with plaintiff’s skin while mixing and spraying paraquat.”
McAndrew moved to dismiss the case on Feb. 9, and Rosenstengel entered judgment on Feb. 12.
On that date, the clerk also closed 17 cases not on Rosenstengel’s list.
Mississippi lawyers Allen Smith and Madison Keyes represented 12 of the 17, McAndrew represented four, and James Orr of Texas represented one.