$46.5 Million Verdict Against Monsanto in First PCB Cancer Case Tried to Verdict in St. Louis

Monsanto produced polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, in the United States for decades before the chemicals were banned in 1979. The compounds were used widely in electrical equipment, construction materials, and industrial applications. After manufacture and disposal, PCBs persisted in soil, water, and the food supply, where they accumulated in human tissue over years and, in some cases, decades.

Three people, from Oklahoma, Michigan, and Alaska, each developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Their lawyers argued that PCBs originating from Monsanto products had contaminated the environments where these individuals lived, and that the company had known for years about the carcinogenic risks its chemicals posed while continuing to sell them without adequate warning.

The case was tried in St. Louis Circuit Court, where Monsanto was incorporated and where the company had manufactured PCBs for much of the twentieth century. Steve Kherkher of Williams Kherkher, the Houston-based firm he co-founded, served as lead trial counsel for the plaintiffs. Williams Kherkher had been building a PCB docket for some time; by the time this trial concluded, the firm was managing roughly 1,000 PCB plaintiffs from across the country.

At trial, the plaintiffs presented evidence that Monsanto had internal knowledge of the hazards associated with PCBs and had not taken steps to protect the public or to discontinue sales after that knowledge became clear. The jury found Monsanto liable and awarded $17.5 million in compensatory damages and $29 million in punitive damages, for a total of $46.5 million.

The verdict was the first PCB-related cancer case tried to a jury verdict in St. Louis. Monsanto, which had faced civil environmental claims related to PCBs in prior proceedings, said it planned to appeal. No reported appellate opinion had reduced the award at the time of publication.