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Guest Op/Ed: Battling Monsanto: Tipping the Scales of Justice

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For close to 30 centuries, the story of David and Goliath has been woven into our cultural consciousness. The term has entered our language as a metaphor for improbable victories by some weak party over someone far stronger. Last week’s San Francisco jury verdict ordering Monsanto to pay $289 million in damages to a school groundskeeper who developed terminal cancer after using the weedkiller, Roundup, was a David and Goliath moment. It marked the growing disgust and outrage at corporations who continue to value profits over people.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria allows thousands of lawsuits against Roundup’s manufacturer, Monsanto, to proceed. CNN reported last year that over 800 patients were suing Monsanto, claiming Roundup gave them non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Since then, thousands more plaintiffs–including cancer patients, their spouses or their estates–have sued the agricultural giant, bringing forth similar product liability claims.

Dewayne Johnson, a former school groundskeeper and father of three, was responsible for mixing and spraying hundreds of gallons of Roundup products, primarily using Roundup PRO, a highly concentrated version of Monsanto’s glyphosate-based product line, which generates four billion dollars in annual revenue for the company. Johnson developed a skin rash in 2014 which worsened after he sprayed the product–eventually leading to 80 percent of his body being covered in lesions.

Despite Monsanto's attempts to have internal communications sealed from the public, evidence at trial revealed that Monsanto deliberately withheld the cancer-causing effects from the public for decades, rejecting "critical research and expert warnings over the years while pursuing and helping to write favorable analyses of their products.“ Depositions of 10 former or current Monsanto employees combined with mounting evidence of Monsanto’s fraudulent and questionable interactions with regulating agencies was enough to sway a jury to rule on the side of the plaintiff.

While undoubtedly a step forward, it is by no means the end, as prevailing against one of the most powerful and vilified corporations in the world is no easy feat.

With assets totaling around 21 Billion U.S. dollars in 2017, the sad truth is that the majority of Monsanto’s legal battles end in their favor. And with virtually unlimited resources, they’re afforded the power to manipulate and control public perception and infiltrate our political system to hold their ground. Case in point: this agrochemical company spent some 68 million U.S. dollars on advertising in the 2017 fiscal year alone. And, according to a political contribution tracking organization, Monsanto has given $30,313,918 over the past 27 years.

Flash back nearly three decades ago when Monsanto was the defendant in the longest civil jury trial in U.S. history, Kemner v. Monsanto. The case involved a group of plaintiffs who claimed to have been poisoned by dioxin in 1979 when a train derailed in Sturgeon, Missouri. The jurors, after deliberating more than two months, agreed with Monsanto that the plaintiffs had suffered no physical harm from exposure to dioxin. Most of the plaintiffs were awarded only $1 each for actual losses, but they were awarded $16.2 million in punitive damages. Upon appeal the court sided with Monsanto and the plaintiffs got nothing.

Recently the Environmental Working Group has released independent laboratory test results that found that Roundup’s weed-killing poison, glyphosate, has been found in 43 of 45 cereals tested, including those we feed our children.

There’s seemingly no end in sight for the lengths corporate giants will take to generate revenue.

Unless there’s a tipping point.

While consumers and corporations alike are watching to see how this latest legal battle will ultimately unfold–whether Monsanto will finally be held accountable or the San Francisco verdict is reversed–you can bet that either outcome will shape the future of how corporations prioritize the health of consumers. Because we’re living in a day and age where the tipping point in the battle of David versus Goliath is influenced in large part by one thing: money. Years of bribery, intimidation, and carcinogens will only be diminished if Monsanto’s pocket book feels the pinch.

Over the past 35 years, I’ve built my practice around battling Goliaths, which has deepened my belief that the law is the single best equalizer of our time. While admittedly flawed and equipped with a pendulum that could swing in either direction, our civil justice system is the greatest opportunity we have to prevail against dangerous and deceitful corporations.

Dale Swope is past president of the Florida Justice Association and serves as managing partner of Swope Rodante P.A. in Tampa.