Trending...
- LiteracyNation's 3rd Annual Indie Author Book Fair
- Insurance for Braces Helps Make Treatment More Manageable for Pennsylvania Families
- Opteamix welcomes Girish Ramachandra to its leadership team as Senior Vice President of Client Services
PHILADELPHIA, May 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Six lawsuits have been filed in federal courts across three states - Pennsylvania, California and Illinois - alleging a link between Paraquat, the widely-banned herbicide, and incurable Parkinson's disease. The lawsuits include the first cases filed in the Pennsylvania courts. The Complaints were jointly filed by a team of leading national toxic torts attorneys from DiCello Levitt Gutzler ("DLG"), Saltz Mongeluzzi & Bendesky, P.C. ("SMB") and Searcy Denney. Parkinson's Awareness Month events concluded Friday, the same day as the filings.
Mark DiCello, of Midwest-based DLG and frequent lead plaintiff's counsel in pivotal multidistrict litigation (MDL) in a wide range of mass tort and product liability cases, said the simultaneous filings signal a significant milestone in the rapidly increasing Paraquat-Parkinson's disease litigation as "three of the nation's leading catastrophic injury and mass tort firms join forces in the fight against the manufacturers and marketers of Paraquat who have long known they were peddling this poison. They must be held accountable through the American justice system." He added, "Our firms have collectively been retained by several hundred clients to date; we'll be seeking a leadership seat at the litigation table, and strongly believe the science is conclusively on the side of the plaintiffs."
More on The PennZone
Jeffrey P. Goodman, a partner at SMB added "These filings are only the tip of the iceberg with what is expected to be the next major mass tort. The manufacturers of paraquat knew for decades that their product was linked to Parkinson's disease yet chose to hide this information from regulators and the public." The defendants named in all six complaints are: Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC, a Delaware corporation, Swiss-headquartered Syngenta AG, and Chevron USA, Inc., a Pennsylvania-registered corporation.
Lawrence R. Cohan, also an SMB partner, heads the firm's mass torts practice and commented "We are honored to file the first Pennsylvania-Paraquat cases to obtain justice for our current and future clients who unknowingly were exposed to this hazardous agricultural chemical – banned in more than 32 countries, among them China and the European Union nations," said Mr. Cohan, who has successfully litigated against global producers of toxic products over his career. Joining Mr. Goodman and Mr. Cohan on SMB's legal team are firm President Robert J. Mongeluzzi and attorneys Josh Cohan and Samuel B. Dordick.
Co-counsel Cal Warriner, of West Palm, Florida-based Searcy Denney, has also served in a plaintiff's leadership role in numerous other mass tort cases, and did not hesitate to join the group in the fight for justice. He said, "We are honored to be a part of this distinguished team of nationally recognized trial lawyers. Our clients need and deserve a strong voice to underscore the injustice they've been dealt. To be stricken with such a horrible disease from an innocent workplace exposure is very sad. We are ready to fight for them." Co-counsel on the California cases is Pete Kaufman with Panish, Shea & Boyle LLP.
More on The PennZone
NOTE: Legal team members will be available for interviews on behalf of the plaintiffs. More information about Parkinson's, including activities during Parkinson's Awareness Month can be found from numerous sources including the Parkinson's Foundation and Michael J. Fox Foundation / Unified Parkinson's Council. The 2011 National Institutes of Health report on the Paraquat-Parkinson link is at NIH 2011 Study. The six U.S. District Court lawsuit filing numbers are 1) Eastern District of Pennsylvania, No. 2:21-cv-01996-JMY; 2) E.D. Pa. No. 2:21-02013; 3) E.D. Pa. No. 2:1:02016 4) Southern District of Illinois, No. 3:21-cv-00439; 5) Northern District of California, No. 3:21-cv-03233; 6) N.D. Cal., No. 3:21-cv-03229.
SOURCE Saltz Mongeluzzi
Mark DiCello, of Midwest-based DLG and frequent lead plaintiff's counsel in pivotal multidistrict litigation (MDL) in a wide range of mass tort and product liability cases, said the simultaneous filings signal a significant milestone in the rapidly increasing Paraquat-Parkinson's disease litigation as "three of the nation's leading catastrophic injury and mass tort firms join forces in the fight against the manufacturers and marketers of Paraquat who have long known they were peddling this poison. They must be held accountable through the American justice system." He added, "Our firms have collectively been retained by several hundred clients to date; we'll be seeking a leadership seat at the litigation table, and strongly believe the science is conclusively on the side of the plaintiffs."
More on The PennZone
- Ignazio Arces Wins Stevie® Award for Maverick of the Year at the 2026 International Business Awards
- SMACK Fighting Championships Debuts a New Sports Concept in Philadelphia
- Tickeron Highlights AI Trading Agent Performance Across Multiple Market Sectors
- Stop Bleeding Cash on Mediocre Talent. Build a Powerhouse Remote Team Instead
- Crownlight Strategies® Announces Federal Trademark Registration
Jeffrey P. Goodman, a partner at SMB added "These filings are only the tip of the iceberg with what is expected to be the next major mass tort. The manufacturers of paraquat knew for decades that their product was linked to Parkinson's disease yet chose to hide this information from regulators and the public." The defendants named in all six complaints are: Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC, a Delaware corporation, Swiss-headquartered Syngenta AG, and Chevron USA, Inc., a Pennsylvania-registered corporation.
Lawrence R. Cohan, also an SMB partner, heads the firm's mass torts practice and commented "We are honored to file the first Pennsylvania-Paraquat cases to obtain justice for our current and future clients who unknowingly were exposed to this hazardous agricultural chemical – banned in more than 32 countries, among them China and the European Union nations," said Mr. Cohan, who has successfully litigated against global producers of toxic products over his career. Joining Mr. Goodman and Mr. Cohan on SMB's legal team are firm President Robert J. Mongeluzzi and attorneys Josh Cohan and Samuel B. Dordick.
Co-counsel Cal Warriner, of West Palm, Florida-based Searcy Denney, has also served in a plaintiff's leadership role in numerous other mass tort cases, and did not hesitate to join the group in the fight for justice. He said, "We are honored to be a part of this distinguished team of nationally recognized trial lawyers. Our clients need and deserve a strong voice to underscore the injustice they've been dealt. To be stricken with such a horrible disease from an innocent workplace exposure is very sad. We are ready to fight for them." Co-counsel on the California cases is Pete Kaufman with Panish, Shea & Boyle LLP.
More on The PennZone
- New Book Calls 'Sense of Belonging' the Missing Link in Student Success
- Igbozue Connecticut USA Celebrates 2026 Summer Family Picnic
- KT Medical Staffing Addresses the Questions Families Forget to Ask Before Bringing Private Nursing Care Home
- Private Autopsies Give Arizona Families Answers After Nursing Home and Care Facility Deaths
- Chuckie F. Mahoney Memorial Foundation Awards Nearly $40,000 in School Grants
NOTE: Legal team members will be available for interviews on behalf of the plaintiffs. More information about Parkinson's, including activities during Parkinson's Awareness Month can be found from numerous sources including the Parkinson's Foundation and Michael J. Fox Foundation / Unified Parkinson's Council. The 2011 National Institutes of Health report on the Paraquat-Parkinson link is at NIH 2011 Study. The six U.S. District Court lawsuit filing numbers are 1) Eastern District of Pennsylvania, No. 2:21-cv-01996-JMY; 2) E.D. Pa. No. 2:21-02013; 3) E.D. Pa. No. 2:1:02016 4) Southern District of Illinois, No. 3:21-cv-00439; 5) Northern District of California, No. 3:21-cv-03233; 6) N.D. Cal., No. 3:21-cv-03229.
SOURCE Saltz Mongeluzzi
0 Comments
Latest on The PennZone
- Mumbai Central Farmers Market Launches Community Collective for More Value and Connection
- XRPPower Expands Platform Security With Enhanced Brand Protection and Official Verification Standards
- Cuvo Health, the #1 White Label Telehealth Platform, Surpasses 300 Exclusive Providers Serving All 50 States
- Birkdale Investments LLC Acquires Assets of Mumbai Central Farmers Market, Unveils Expanded Vision
- RAS AP Consulting Expands Managed AP Governance™ Ecosystem, Launches Trademark Process, and Secures IFOL Speaker Invitation
- UK Financial Ltd Makes History: Chainlink CRE Circulating Supply Verification Goes Live Across Its Complete Ecosystem Of Nine Exchange-Traded Tokens
- International Rights Groups Raise Alarm Over Freedom of Religion and Expression in South Korea
- The City's Most Elegant Open-Air Dinner Party Returns September 12, 2026
- LiteracyNation's 3rd Annual Indie Author Book Fair
- FDA Clears Major Regulatory Hurdle as Preservative-Free Ketamine Program Moves Within Reach of Commercialization: NRx Pharmaceuticals: (NAS DAQ: NRXP)
- Autonomous Robotics Platform Expansion as Public Market Debut is Very Close: MBody AI Corp. (N A S D A Q: MBAI)
- Loud! OOH calls for prize draw advertising standards as £1.3bn category moves outdoors
- Insurance for Braces Helps Make Treatment More Manageable for Pennsylvania Families
- Black Ribbon Productions Launches With Fearless 2026 Horror Slate
- Actor Dominic Pace Returns to Television and Film
- Opteamix welcomes Girish Ramachandra to its leadership team as Senior Vice President of Client Services
- Silicon Box Ships 500M Units at High Yield, Expands Production Capacity for Panel-Level Packaging
- Bethany Nikitenko Appointed to Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association Board of Directors
- Why Baton Rouge's Humid Climate Can Contribute to Carpenter Ant Damage — J&J Exterminating Explains How to Protect Your Home
- Meals on Wheels of the Greater Lehigh Valley Awarded $50,000 Grant from Harry C. Trexler Trust