What’s New in Dangerous Product Lawsuits Heading into July 2025
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From the U.S. Supreme Court delaying its decision on hearing a Roundup lawsuit to Johnson & Johnson reaffirming it has no interest in agreeing to a talcum powder settlement, here’s what’s new in major dangerous product lawsuits over the last month.
Roundup Lawsuits
We will have to wait a little longer to find out if the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a Roundup lawsuit. At the end of June, the Court delayed its decision on a petition that had been filed by Bayer back in April, inviting the Solicitor General to weigh in on the issue first.
This is essentially the Court seeking the opinion of the federal government on the issue before making a final decision.
Bayer, which acquired Roundup maker Monsanto in 2018, has claimed that this move is an encouraging sign for the company as it looks to get past the litigation. It has hoped that a favorable decision from the Supreme Court could largely end these lawsuits.
In other Roundup news, the New Jersey Supreme Court has consolidated Roundup lawsuits in the state into multicounty litigation (MCL). This groups the cases together before one judge, allowing for a more streamlined legal process.
Bayer also opted to settle a Roundup lawsuit in Missouri state court during its trial last month.
Talcum Powder Ovarian Cancer Lawsuits
The talcum powder lawsuits have begun to pick up steam now that we are well past Johnson & Johnson’s failed bankruptcy attempt.
There was a huge jump in the number of active talc cases grouped together in multidistrict litigation (MDL) over the last month. At the start of July, there were 63,693 active cases. That’s a sizable increase of more than 4,000 cases from the start of June.
Last week, J&J reemphasized its lack of interest in attempting to settle these cases. In a court document, the company’s representatives stated that they do not think that mediation for the MDL cases is necessary or would be productive at this stage.
“Given the parties’ impasse, the Johnson & Johnson Defendants respectfully submit that the most appropriate path forward is to focus on getting these cases ready for trial,” they stated in the document.
On the trial front, plaintiffs also identified the case that they would like to serve as the first bellwether.
AFFF Lawsuits
Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) lawsuits remain on the rise. There are now more than 11,000 cases grouped together in federal court of claims that this PFAS-containing firefighting foam has caused cancer and other issues.
Defendants like 3M have already agreed to settlements worth billions with public water systems, and personal injury claims are now advancing through the MDL process.
As the first bellwether trial approaches, the judge overseeing the AFFF lawsuits is encouraging both sides to agree to a settlement before that trial can take place.
The trial, which is scheduled for October, will focus on kidney cancer claims.
Paraquat Lawsuits
We are still awaiting more information on a potential settlement for the thousands of pending paraquat lawsuits, which claim that the pesticide is tied to the development of Parkinson’s disease.
There are more than 6,000 cases grouped together in an MDL, but the progress of those cases has remained paused as both sides work to hammer out the details of the settlement.
It’s unclear at this time how large the settlement will be or exactly how many cases will be covered. The judge overseeing these lawsuits had initially requested an update on the settlement’s progress by June 11 but has now extended the pause until July 21.
Social Media Harm Lawsuits
There was a major update to the Social Media Harm lawsuits last month, with the judge overseeing these lawsuits selecting 11 cases to serve as bellwether trials.
Those cases, which could play a key role in shaping an eventual settlement, are divided into two groups: six lawsuits filed by school districts and five lawsuits filed by individuals.
This news comes as new social media harm lawsuits continue to be filed. There are now 1,867 active cases in the MDL. This is about 50 cases more than the start of last month.