Last week, Barbara Billauer, at the American Council on Science and Health[1] website, reported on the Australian court that found insufficient scientific evidence to support plaintiffs’ claims that they had developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) from their exposure to Monsanto’s glyphosate product. The judgment had previously been reported by the Genetic Literacy Project,[2] which republished an Australian news report from July.[3] European news media seemed more astute in reporting the judgment, with The Guardian[4] and Reuters reporting the court decision in July.[5] The judgment was noteworthy because the mainstream and legal media in the United States generally ignored the development. The Old Gray Lady and the WaPo in the United States, both of which have covered previous glyphosate cases in the United States, sayeth naught. Crickets at Law360.
On July 24, 2024, Justice Michael Lee, for the Federal Court of Australia, ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support the claims of 800 plaintiffs that their NHL had been caused by glyphosate exposure.[6] Because plaintiffs’ claims were aggregated in a class, the judgment against the class of 800 or so claimants, was the most significant judgment in glyphosate litigation to date.
Justice Lee’s opinion is over 300 pages long, and I have had a chance only to skim it. Regardless of how the Australian court handled various issues, one thing is indisputable: the court has given a written record of its decision processes for the world to assess, critique, validate, or refute. Jury trials provide no similar opportunity to evaluate the reasoning processes (vel non) of the decision maker. The absence of transparency, and an opportunity to evaluate the soundness of verdicts in complex medical causation, raises the question whether jury trials really satisfy the legal due process requirements of civil adjudication.
[1] Barbara Pfeffer Billauer, “The RoundUp Judge Who Got It,” ACSH (Aug. 29, 2024).
[2] Kristian Silva, “Insufficient evidence that glyphosate causes cancer: Australian court tosses 800-person class action lawsuit,” ABC News (Australia) (July 26, 2024).
[3] Kristian Silva, “Major class action thrown out as Federal Court finds insufficient evidence to prove weedkiller Roundup causes cancer,” ABC Australian News (July 25, 2024).
[4] Australian Associated Press, “Australian judge dismisses class action claiming Roundup causes cancer,” The Guardian (July 25, 2024).
[5] Peter Hobson and Alasdair Pal, “Australian judge dismisses lawsuit claiming Bayer weedkiller causes blood cancer,” Reuters (July 25, 2024).
[6] McNickle v. Huntsman Chem. Co. Australia Pty Ltd (Initial Trial) [2024] FCA 807.
