EAST ST. LOUIS - Paraquat litigation leaders Sarah Doles of Florida and Kahldoun Baghdadi of California invited Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel to order 40 plaintiffs to show why she shouldn’t dismiss their claims.
They claimed counsel for eight of the 40 didn’t respond to their information requests.
For the other 32 they contested dismissal but requested in the alternative an opportunity for counsel in each case to show why dismissal was unwarranted.
Ben Martin of Texas represents 15 of the 32 and the leaders stated he requested more time.
Tor Hoerman of Edwardsville represents three and the leaders stated he requested more time.
James Onder of St. Louis County represents five and the leaders stated he uploaded declarations of futility to the court’s paraquat portal on Dec. 18.
Paraquat plaintiffs claim exposure to the weed killer caused Parkinson’s disease.
Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel presides over almost 6,000 exposure suits from many states against producer Syngenta and former producer Chevron.
In February, she ordered each plaintiff to serve subpoenas on third parties for evidence.
On Dec. 6, Syngenta and Chevron moved to dismiss 47 plaintiffs who didn’t upload anything.
The response from Doles and Baghdadi began with five cases they found strong enough to contest dismissal without an alternative.
They stated a data entry error created a duplicate questionnaire in the portal.
They stated a subpoena was uploaded to a different plaintiff with the same name.
In three cases they stated counsel issued subpoenas but didn’t upload them.
Then they began offering the alternative of individual examination.
They stated Onder and counsel for two other plaintiffs detailed the futility of efforts to locate entities that might possess responsive information.
“Given counsel’s diligent investigation of this matter plaintiffs’ leadership contests dismissal of this case," they wrote.
They stated two plaintiffs sent records requests to the comptroller of Texas on Dec. 12 and 16.
They stated three plaintiffs issued subpoenas to state agencies in Georgia, New Mexico and Texas on Dec. 19 and 20.
They stated plaintiff Charles Morgan, client of Bryant Law Center in Kentucky, issued a subpoena to Morgan Farms on Dec. 18.
They stated Texas lawyer Mikal Watts requested more time for one client and voluntarily dismissed another on Dec. 18.
They stated Hoerman voluntarily dismissed client Philip Wayman of Kentucky on Dec. 17.
Their brief ended with the eight whose counsel didn't respond.
The Kirkendall Dwyer firm of St. Louis County represents five of them.