EAST ST. LOUIS - In a single day Alabama lawyer Gary Anderson voluntarily dismissed 26 suits claiming weed killer paraquat caused Parkinson’s disease and in a single day Mississippi lawyer Madison Keyes voluntarily dismissed 18 paraquat suits.
The double dump occurred on Sept. 23 and 27, and other lawyers dismissed 32 suits in the last 12 days of the month for a total of 76.
Hundreds of plaintiffs in this national litigation have dismissed suits and hundreds abandoned their claims by failing to return questionnaires, for a total around 1,200.
Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel presides over almost 6,000 active suits by appointment of judges in Washington who consolidated claims from in 2021.
In 2022 she selected plaintiffs for a series of trials that could shape global settlement.
As the first trial approached in May 2023 two plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their claims.
Rosenstengel gave plaintiff leaders two weeks to start conferring with paraquat producer Syngenta and former producer Chevron about four categories of cases.
She set a category for those who stated they had no information concerning exposure to paraquat as opposed to a different product.
She set a category for those with no evidence for diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.
She set a category for those who claimed to have used paraquat in a form in which it never existed such as powder or pellet.
She set a fourth category for those with issues like those of the two trial plaintiffs.
“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.”
Dismissals began and have continued but not enough to resolve her concerns.
She selected plaintiffs for discovery this year and many immediately dismissed.
A pending motion from Syngenta and Chevron would dismiss 590 more plaintiffs.
Anderson has filed 134 paraquat suits and 96 remain active, or 72%.
Keyes has filed 1,014 and 795 remain active, or 78%.
Randi Kassan of New York State dismissed four in late September.
Mark Abramowitz of Ohio and Riley Burnett of Houston each dismissed three.
Aaron Dickey of St. Louis County dismissed three and left the litigation behind.
He filed four last year and Rosenstengel dismissed one for failure to return a questionnaire.