To help the parties gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that is likely to be repeated throughout the claims, Judge Rosenstengal has established a bellwether process, where a small group of representative Paraquat lawsuits are being prepared for early test trials.
The process was delayed last year, after the judge dismissed the first batch of potential bellwether cases, after excluding the plaintiffs’ expert witness from testifying at trial. However, the Judge selected 10 new Paraquat bellwether candidates in August 2024, which have been fast-tracked for trial.
Over the past six months, plaintiffs and defendants have conducted case-specific discovery on six potential bellwether cases, and submitted competing proposals to the court last month about how the cases should move forward.
New Paraquat Lawsuit Bellwether Candidates Selected
In a court order (PDF) issued on January 23, Judge Rosenstengal announced that the parties will continue with full case-specific discovery on all six Paraquat bellwether lawsuits, and they will later select two specific claims to go before juries later this year.
The order identified three of the bellwether lawsuits, including complaints filed by Donald Tucker, Paul Scibilia and Marshall Bork, as candidates for the first bellwether trial, which will begin on October 14, 2025. The three other lawsuits, including claims filed by Michael Peek, Russel Okerlund and Douglas Malish, will be eligible for the second bellwether trial, slated to begin on April 6, 2026.
In addition, the judge issued a series of deadlines for the two Paraquat bellwether trials. Summary judgement and Daubert briefings are due for the first trial by August 15, 2025. The order indicates the court will set a hearing date for oral arguments on summary judgment and Daubert motions in a future order.
While the outcome of these trials will not have any binding impact on other plaintiffs, they are likely to have a substantial influence on average Paraquat settlement amounts the manufacturers may offer to avoid each individual claim being remanded back to U.S. District Courts nationwide for separate trial dates in the coming years.