Dismissal of Bellwether Trials and Implications for Future Litigation
The MDL judge dismissed four bellwether lawsuits after excluding the testimony of the plaintiff’s key expert on general causation, Dr. Martin Wells. This decision effectively ended those four cases as the plaintiffs could not establish the necessary causal link for their claims without this testimony.
However, the litigation continues, and plaintiffs’ lawyers are tasked with developing new experts. The court plans to expedite the process by selecting a new group of cases for trial, with each party having a specific allocation for case selection. After the selections are submitted, the court will issue a Case Management Order outlining a discovery schedule and setting trial dates.
Despite this setback, plaintiffs’ attorneys remain optimistic about the strength of the science linking Paraquat and Parkinson’s disease.
