Opposition and Objections to Roundup Settlement Deal
The District Court has set a schedule for opposition or objections to the Monsanto Roundup settlement agreement.
The conclusion of the Order appears below with our edit’s in italics.
For additional information on our Roundup lawyers, click here.
Plaintiff’s may raise objections to the Roundup settlement
Given the Court’s current skepticism, it could be contrary to everyone’s interest to delay the hearing on preliminary approval. If the motion for preliminary approval is denied, the parties will presumably move to Plan B for devising a system to address future claims. (Although the Court is not aware of any Plan B, it would be surprising if none existed given the stakes involved and the novelty of Plan A.) And if the parties are going to need to move to Plan B, they would presumably prefer to do that sooner rather than later. Moreover, if the motion would already be denied on the current record, it would be a waste of time and money to wait for hundreds of pages of briefing from dozens of lawyers and law professors from around the country, no matter how interesting those Roundup settlement opposing or supporting briefs would be.
No Extension of Time for Hearing
Accordingly, the following procedure will apply to the motion for preliminary approval. The hearing will take place, as scheduled, on July 24. With respect to the filing deadline on July 13, the Court will only consider filings from potential class members titled “preliminary opposition” or “preliminary objections.” Any such filing must be in the form of a letter brief, not to exceed two pages, single-spaced. (Counsel can be listed on a third page to avoid taking up space on the first two pages.) Anything longer will not be considered and will be stricken from the docket. If the Court’s views begin to evolve after the hearing on preliminary approval, it will issue an order inviting full briefing in support or objecting to the Roundup settlement. Filing a letter brief will not be a prerequisite to filing a longer brief if one is invited after the hearing, nor will the longer brief be limited to the issues raised in the letter brief. The plaintiffs may file a reply to the letter briefs by the previously specified deadline.
To view the full and unedited District Court document, here.
