As Nobel laureate Richard Feynman once observed, “[w]isdom is knowing when to ask the right questions.” A related proposition is that wise jurists know how to identify and focus on the right questions. Motion practice can...more
On October 18, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the registration of a new herbicide active ingredient, glufosinate-P. This approval marks a significant milestone in agricultural weed management,...more
EPA primarily regulates the sale, distribution and use of pesticides pursuant to its authority under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Under FIFRA, EPA is involved with the registration of new...more
EPA Proposes Removing Affirmative Defense Provisions from Eighteen Clean Air Act Emission Standards - In a proposed rule published on June 24, 2024, EPA has proposed to remove eighteen affirmative defense provisions for...more
As part of its responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released its final Herbicide Strategy to address potential impacts of conventional herbicides on...more
Bayer and Monsanto are currently facing about 54,000 lawsuits filed by consumers who were exposed to the weedkiller Roundup (glyphosate), according to recent court documents....more
When tasked with assessing the admissibility of expert testimony under Federal Rule of Evidence 702, courts often cite the so-called Daubert factors as criteria that guide the inquiry. Among those factors is “whether the...more
On May 3, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it received an application from Bayer CropScience LP for a new product containing the currently registered active ingredient dicamba. The proposed...more
An expert witness is not supposed to pick a desired result and then reverse engineer inputs and methods that reach that result. As the Ninth Circuit observed 30 years ago, “[c]oming to a firm conclusion first and then doing...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stayed new climate-related disclosure requirements pending judicial review, the agency said on Thursday, after criticism from across the political spectrum. The SEC’s...more
California AG Will Not Seek Rehearing Of Bar On Prop. 65 Glyphosate Warning - California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta (D) has declined to ask a federal appellate court to rehear a panel ruling that permanently blocked...more
Third Time’s A Charm: California Re-Introduces Proposed Changes to Proposition 65’s Warnings and Safe Harbor Requirements - On October 27, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), the lead...more
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) “advis[ed] the public” on December 1, 2023, of its determination that DP23211 maize (corn) that has been developed using genetic...more
On November 7, 2023, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concluded in National Association of Wheat Growers v. Bonta, that California’s Proposition 65 (Prop 65) cancer warning for glyphosate, a product primarily...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is preparing to announce new regulations governing soot — the particles that trucks, farms, factories, wildfires, power plants, and dusty roads generate. By law, the agency isn’t...more
The question of whether a particular application of herbicide on one property caused damage on another’s property requires expert testimony. When a plaintiff claims that herbicide drift caused reduced crop yields, it is not...more
EPA's new environmental justice office will oversee $3 billion in grants to polluted communities Bullet CNBC – September 26 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on September 24 launched the Office of Environmental...more
Paraquat dichloride is a synthetic chemical compound that has been used as an active ingredient in herbicide products sold in the United States since the mid-1960s. One of the most commonly used herbicides in the U.S., it has...more
The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island (“D.R.I.”) addressed in an Opinion whether insurance coverage is applicable to the release of gasoline from an aboveground storage tank (“AST”) associated with...more
Around the country, creative plaintiffs' lawyers have been repackaging product liability claims as public nuisance claims to avoid dismissal. Plaintiffs have used this maneuver to attempt an end-run on important product...more
UC study finds safe drinking water remains out of reach for many Californians - NBC Bay Area – January 12 - An estimated 371,000 Californians -- about 1% of the state's residents -- rely on drinking water that may contain...more
The modern mass tort, where thousands of personal injury cases are transferred to a single court for coordinated management, has evolved over the past two decades after courts concluded that the class action procedure was not...more
It has been described as the deadliest weedkiller on the planet. It also has been described as the most prevalent weedkiller on the planet. And now it is being described as the hot topic of a series of lawsuits filed against...more
The subject of six lawsuits filed in three states, paraquat is widely used in the agricultural industry and, sadly, often causes illnesses to those least able to care for themselves: workers. Workers on farms and ranches...more
MULTI-STATE LAWSUITS FILED TODAY AGAINST MAKERS OF PARAQUAT – HERBICIDE LINKED TO PARKINSON’S DISEASE – BY TEAM OF ATTORNEYS FROM DICELLO LEVITT GUTZLER, SALTZ MONGELUZZI & BENDESKY, AND SEARCY LAW - Defendants include...more