Calif. Appellate Court Hears Arguments in Appeal of $2 Billion Roundup Verdict

SAN FRANCISCO –– A California intermediate appellate court heard oral arguments in the appeal of a $2 billion verdict that was later reduced to $86.7 million, with attorneys for the defendants stressing that the underlying claims were preempted by federal law.

During the June 22 oral arguments in the California Court of Appeal, First District, Division Two, counsel for Monsanto additionally argued that, if any punitive damages were to be awarded, the ratio should be 1:1, given the “extraordinary size of compensatory damages.”

Oral arguments were heard by Presiding Justice J. Anthony Kline and Associate Justices Marla J. Miller and …