Petition Asks JPML to Create MDL Docket for Claims Linking Paraquat to Parkinson’s Disease

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– A plaintiff with paraquat herbicide claims pending against Syngenta Crop Protection LLC, Syngenta AG, and Chevron U.S.A. has asked the JPML to create a multidistrict litigation docket for the growing number of lawsuits, calling them “excellent candidates for coordinated pretrial proceedings.”

The petition was filed with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on April 7.

In it, movant Paul Rakoczy identified 14 actions pending in six different districts across the country linking the development of Parkinson’s disease to paraquat exposure.

“Each paraquat case requires extensive discovery concerning the development, marketing, and toxicity of paraquat, as …