Do you remember when the Roundup settlement was big news?
In 2018 Dewayne Lee Johnson was awarded $39 million for past and future losses and Monsanto was hit with $250 million in punitive damages. This is comforting for him since he’s able to provide for his family, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s not expected to survive through 2020.
A lot has happened since 2018, though. So what’s happened, and how does it affect you?
Keep reading to find out.
State of the Roundup Settlement
Since the initial ruling, Johnson has had his Roundup settlement amounts slashed time and time again. Recently the First District Court of Appeal reduced it to damages of $78.5 million to the latest figure of $21.5 million. The reason?
California law doesn’t allow “reduced life expectancy” as a reason for damages. However, they still uphold that Monsanto acted with “conscious disregard” and that there was still evidence to support the jury’s initial conclusion.
Dewayne Johnson wasn’t a public figure before — he was only a gardener for a state school district. We don’t know if he took lawsuit loans to cover bills and legal payments, but it could work for you and others.
More people are taking on big companies like other Roundup victims Bayer-Monsanto, like Edwin Hardeman and Alva and Alberta Pilliod.
Nationwide, Bayer AG is absorbing Monsanto’s lawsuits one by one, with Roundup settlement payouts totaling nearly $10 billion to perhaps 125,000 claimants. This is added to Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto which cost $63 billion in 2018.
What Is Johnson Getting?
In the end, Judge Humes has reduced the award to $10.25 million and matched the punitive damages for a total of $20.5 million. Mostly because state law allows damages for future pain only, and that only if it is “reasonably certain.”
Some have been critical of the law in this regard, stating that it is now in the best interest of big business defendants to completely kill off a plaintiff rather than maiming or injuring them. The repercussions for this could run deep. Johnson’s lawyers are even requesting the state Supreme Court to change their stance on this “irrational law.”
Whether he’ll live long enough to see any of the money is yet to be seen. However, the 48-year-old non-Hodgkins lymphoma patient’s family should benefit from the funds at least.
Final Words on Roundup Settlements
The Roundup settlement is a landmark case, not just because it’s David vs Goliath, but because of the ethical and legal implications it opens up going forward. Roundup, in particular glyphosate, has a murky ruling of whether it is a carcinogen or not. Time will be the only one to reveal the outcome of this settlement, with mixed predictions of the consequences.
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