Paraquat MDL Judge Orders Limited Discovery in 25 Cases; Expresses Concern Over Implausible Claims

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. –– The federal judge overseeing the Paraquat products liability multidistrict litigation docket has selected 25 cases for “limited discovery” after expressing concern that a “significant number of plaintiffs in the MDL do not plausibly allege exposure to paraquat.”

In the Case Management Order filed on Jan. 22, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois opined that “additional discovery regarding these individuals will provide representative data about Plaintiffs, determine whether Plaintiffs’ claims are plausible and substantiated, and expose non-meritorious claims.”

The court explained that, in CMO No. 18, it addressed its concern regarding the …