$275 Million Verdict for Students Poisoned by PCBs at Washington State School

For years, students at Sky Valley Education Center in Monroe, Washington attended classes in a building whose light fixtures and caulk contained polychlorinated biphenyls, a chemical class that Monsanto produced from the 1930s until Congress banned PCB manufacturing in 1979. The plaintiffs, thirteen children and family members, alleged that chronic PCB exposure caused documented neurological harm, with some facing the prospect of lasting cognitive deficits.

Monsanto, now owned by Bayer AG, had manufactured PCBs under the trade name Aroclor and sold them for use in electrical components and construction materials. Plaintiffs argued at trial that Monsanto knew for decades that PCBs accumulated in the body and disrupted neurological development, yet continued production and concealed the risks. The Sky Valley building was eventually identified as heavily contaminated, and more than two hundred students, parents, and teachers ultimately filed suit.

Rick Friedman of Friedman Rubin, joined by co-counsel from Trial Lawyers for Justice, tried the case over roughly two months before a King County jury. The trial was the fifth in the Sky Valley PCB litigation. Three earlier juries had returned verdicts of $62 million, $185 million, and $21 million, totaling approximately $268 million for fourteen plaintiffs; a fourth trial ended in a mistrial after jurors deadlocked.

On October 13, 2022, the jury returned a verdict of $275 million: $55 million in compensatory damages and $220 million in punitive damages. Individual awards to the seven student plaintiffs ranged from roughly $20 million to $52.5 million; three parent plaintiffs received $5 million each. Bayer stated after the verdict that it would pursue post-trial motions and appeal, citing what it characterized as errors at trial and insufficient proof.

At the time of the verdict, Friedman noted that approximately sixteen additional Sky Valley trials remained ahead. The case is styled Allison, et al. v. Monsanto Company, No. 18-2-26074-4.