Miller Appointed to MDL Leadership
On November 16 of 2016, Michael Miller of The Miller Firm, LLC, Robin Greenwald of Weitz & Luxenberg, PC, and Aimee Wagstaff of Andrus Wagstaff, PC were appointed Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel and chairs of the Executive Committee for the Monsanto Roundup® Multidistrict Litigation (MDL). U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria of the Northern District of California, who is presiding over the consolidated Roundup® lawsuits, appointed the six-attorney leadership team that also includes on the executive committee: Yvonne Flaherty of Lockridge Grindal Nauen; Michael Baum of Baum Hedlud Aristei & Goldman, and Hunter Lundy of Lundy, Lundy, Soileau & South.
Monsanto and its lawyers, who are now facing over a hundred cases relating to Roundup®’s carcinogenicity, opposed this alliance. The initial phase of the MDL litigation will concentrate on general causation and the science relating to Roundup®’s carcinogenicity.
Pro-Pesticide Lobbyists Influence EPA Glyphosate Review Panel
Another development related to the Roundup® MDL is the re-scheduling of the EPA review of the carcinogenic potential of glyphosate, Roundup®’s primary ingredient, without one of the original core scientists, Dr. Peter Infante. CropLife America, the trade group that represents big pesticide companies including Monsanto, wrote a letter to the EPA complaining about Infante’s inclusion on the glyphosate study. Infante is an epidemiologist and environmental health researcher, lauded by the EPA, who has decades of relevant experience.
CropLife America objected to Infante’s previously voiced mistrust of industry-funded studies (in which the pesticide industry funds the health-risk studies of their own products). They also wanted him removed from the panel because he had previously testified in other pesticide-related cases, not concerning glyphosate. Infante responded with a letter defending his extensive credentials. After the EPA’s delay of the review from October to December, it has now been rescheduled without Infante. CropLife America has also targeted Dr. Kenneth Portier, Vice President of the Statistics & Evaluation Center at the American Cancer Society, but he currently remains on the panel. By excluding Dr. Infante, the EPA has removed a profoundly and appropriately experienced scientist from the glyphosate-review panel and placed unwarranted power in the hands of the pro-pesticide lobbyists. Consumer Affairs shares this quote from Bill Freese, who analyzes science policy for the Center for Food Safety: “I think the evidence that glyphosate is carcinogenic is very strong and the EPA just refuses to acknowledge it,” (consumeraffairs.com).
Glyphosate has been determined to be a “probable human carcinogen” by the World Health Organization. Monsanto continues to try to delegitimize the scientific evidence of Roundup®’s toxicity and carcinogenicity. The Miller Firm has filed multiple lawsuits in several U.S. state and federal courts seeking to hold Monsanto accountable for its scientific fraud which caused thousands of people to develop non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
The Miller Firm is presently accepting clients who developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after using Monsanto’s Roundup® herbicide. If this has happened to you, please visit our Roundup Lawsuit page to request a free consultation or call the Miller Firm at 1-800-882-2525.
