JPML Declines to Create Coordinated Docket for Cases Involving PCB Water Contamination

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has declined to create a centralized pretrial proceeding docket for cases filed by municipalities contending that their water has been contaminated by PCBs manufactured by Monsanto.

In the April 7 order, the JPML said that the only commonality the complaints share is that the involve Monsanto’s PCBs. Beyond that, the panel found, the complaints involve different bodies of water, different remediation efforts and different regulations.

The municipal plaintiffs seeking the creation of a centralized pretrial docket have claims pending in the Northern District of California, the Southern District of California, …