Watson v. Monsanto Company

Filing 21

Order Granting Motions to Set Aside Judgment. Signed by Judge Vince Chhabria on 12/5/2022. (crblc4, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 12/5/2022)

Case 3:18-cv-02100-VC Document 21 Filed 12/05/22 Page 1 of 2

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
IN RE: ROUNDUP PRODUCTS
LIABILITY LITIGATION

MDL No 2741
Case No. 16-md-02741-VC

This document relates to:
Walter Watson v. Monsanto Co.,
Case No. 18-cv-2100-VC

ORDER GRANTING MOTIONS TO
SET ASIDE JUDGMENT
Re: Dkt. Nos. 15535, 15536

George Smith v. Monsanto Co.,
Case No. 18-cv-3757-VC

The requests by Watson and Smith for an indicative ruling under Rule 62.1 are granted. If
the cases were remanded, the Court would grant the motions to set aside the judgment. There is
no question that attorney negligence caused judgment to be entered against Watson and Smith.
However, in the context of this massive, complicated MDL, their neglect is excusable. Although
the attorneys certainly should have noticed that the show cause order included Watson and
Smith’s cases, it is difficult to keep track of orders issued in an MDL of this magnitude. Indeed,
there are currently over 15,000 docket entries in this MDL. Moreover, there is no indication that
lead plaintiffs’ counsel made any effort to notify counsel for Watson and Smith of the impending
dismissal of their clients’ claims. Ideally, lead plaintiffs’ counsel should be taking a more
proactive role in communicating with attorneys whose clients are on the verge of losing their
cases on some procedural basis. Finally, special consideration is given here because Watson and
Smith’s counsel have resolved over 125 Roundup-related cases. See Dkt. No. 15535 at 11. This
indicates that their counsel truly made an inadvertent, administrative mistake, and that they
would properly handle these two cases if given another chance.

Case 3:18-cv-02100-VC Document 21 Filed 12/05/22 Page 2 of 2

If the cases are remanded, counsel for Monsanto and for the lead plaintiffs are ordered to
work with counsel for Watson and Smith to ensure that a litigation schedule is developed for
these cases, and to ensure that Watson and Smith participate promptly in the mediation program.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: December 5, 2022
______________________________________
VINCE CHHABRIA
United States District Judge

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