Contents page 1 — Miller’s bet against Bayer page 2 — In the process the credibility of the experts wrestled On a page
question read: What is a rock legend, a Hollywood star and a dozen lawyers in a court room in California? Answer: the Bayer AG.
Together they form the cast of the third round of a legal cut and thrust that could deal with the world for years: the lawsuits against the seed producer Monsanto, since last year, part of Bayer. Converted to 58.8 billion euros, paid by Bayer for the controversial US company. And now 13.400 lawsuits in the USA on the neck, which turn in the Main a question: does the weed killer Roundup, a Bestseller from the house of Monsanto, people sick? Bayer denies that the “proper application” of the case, and refers to countless studies and to regulatory authorities.
Alva and Alberta P. see the different. In your case, it is negotiated this Wednesday at the beginning of may in the fourth floor of a gray office building in Oakland. Both are in their seventies and suffering from blood cancer, their Doctors, the so-called Non-Hodgkin’s diagnosed lymphoma. And now they make Monsanto and Bayer therefore responsible for it. On their land, so you signs to have it sprayed regularly since 1975 Roundup. Its main active ingredient, glyphosate, have made them both sick, so her allegation.
the court Follows this reasoning and sentenced Bayer to damages, is likely to aggravate the crisis of the group. At the end of April, the shareholders of Bayer CEO Werner Baumann at the annual General meeting of the group, have refused to discharge; for Bayer, and Baumann is now everything. The jurors have doubts, however, could mean for Bayer and Baumann maybe even the turn.
The two applicants are this Wednesday, the 18th. Day of the trial, has not appeared. A look in the visitor’s ranks shows how much the Monsanto processes in America. In the first row, a grey-haired man sitting with a crumpled face and a felt hat, and the jurors are surprised when they recognize him: the Singer-Songwriter Neil Young. The woman next to him is the actress Daryl Hannah, known by the eighties movie Wall Street. Four years ago, Young has produced an Album that he Monsanto devoted: “And Roundup comes and brings the toxic flood of Monsanto, Monsanto,” is a line of verse. Daryl liked his critical Songs, during a protest March against a Pipeline project, they were to Few.
This article dates back to the TIME no 20/2019. Here you can read the entire issue.
sits right behind you with the Glyphosate, Girl. Behind the Pseudonym of a blogger, which means, in reality, Kelly Ryerson, at the Elite-Uni Stanford has studied and himself to the Chronicler of the procedure has made. She had been very sick, until you’ve discovered that it to your diet and the toxins in it, she says. Now she has a Mission: she wants to ban glyphosate from the life of the people.
Clear that Glyphosate, the Girl has to be at the first Roundup-method with Neil and Daryl friends. Had complained to the janitor of a school, DeWayne Johnson. He also gives a Roundup of the blame for his cancer. The jury awarded him in August last year to $ 289 million. The judge reduced the amount later to 78 million dollars. For Bayer and its shareholders, this was a shock. Then, a court in San Francisco sentenced in March, Bayer to 80 million dollars in damages to the retired Edwin Hardeman, also makes Roundup for his disease.
On this day of the trial in Oakland, there is good news for Bayer. The U.S. environmental protection Agency, EPA, has once again confirmed that glyphosate is carcinogenic. The findings show the two lawyers of Bayer, the jury. “Oh, man,” says the judge, “the Arm of Monsanto reaches far and wide.” She means it as a joke, but the Bayer representative keep a straight face. To serious all this is, as one might laugh at Bayer, somehow.
But also Michael Miller and Brent Wisner look dark. They are the two lawyers of Alva and Alberta P., and the statement by the EPA is contrary to everything the preloaded experts have presented to the jury so far are: pathologists, oncologists, hematologists, toxicologists, and even a forensic Economist. Also, for the lawyers, much depends on the procedures in Oakland, especially: a lot of money. Because they are paid by the applicant married couple only, if it wins in court or with Bayer on a comparison agrees; then the lawyers receive a share of the damages. “No Fees Unless You Win”, it means this model is not in this Form in Germany is allowed. In the US, it has made many a lawyer rich, because 25 to 30 percent of success of participation are common.
If Miller and Wisner lose, however, then you can wear it alone, your cost: hundreds of hours of work are up and running, your staff have interviewed dozens of witnesses and expertise. However, the lawyers represented approximately 3,000 plaintiffs in the Roundup processes, you don’t have to drive for each of them the same effort. The business model of lawyers: It looks like a big bet, which is worth more, the more diseased plaintiff, drag to your page.
