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Monsanto has filed an appeal against a $175 million jury verdict in Pennsylvania Superior Court, seeking to reverse the decision that favored Ernest Caranci, who claimed that Roundup weedkiller was the cause of his cancer.
Monsanto contends that a court clerk improperly influenced the jury’s decision by implying that additional deliberation days would be required before a mistrial could be declared. The company argues that this guidance deviated from the standard procedure in Pennsylvania and exerted undue pressure on the jury to deliver a verdict.
In addition, the appeal challenges several evidentiary decisions made by Judge James C. Crumlish III, particularly the exclusion of evidence demonstrating a global scientific consensus regarding the safety of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup. Monsanto asserts that excluding this information, while allowing a foreign report that supported the plaintiff’s case, created an imbalance and compromised the fairness of the trial. Monsanto also references the Third Circuit’s Schaffner v. Monsanto decision, which addresses state law failure-to-warn claims, as part of its appeal rationale.
Overall, the basis for Monsanto’s appeal appears weak and lacks substantial merit.
