Roundup MDL Court Sanctions Plaintiffs’ Counsel at Start of Bellwether Trial

SAN FRANCISCO –– The court overseeing the bellwether Roundup personal injury trial in the national multidistrict litigation docket has sanctioned counsel for the plaintiff, saying that she “committed several acts of misconduct during her opening statement.”

In a Feb. 26 pretrial order, Judge Vince Chhabria of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California sanctioned attorney Aimee Wagstaff $500 for her “bad faith conduct during her opening statement.”

Judge Chhabria explained that Wagstaff had, during her opening statement, spoke to the jury about what Phase 2 of the trial would involve, “despite a clear understanding among the parties …