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Afternoon Briefs: Judge rejects $2B Roundup settlement; Dershowitz pursues defamation suits

By Debra Cassens Weiss

May 27, 2021, 3:25 pm CDT

Judge rejects $2B settlement in Roundup litigation

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria of the Northern District of California has rejected a proposed $2 billion settlement of future claims in litigation alleging that Roundup weed killer causes cancer. Chhabria said the settlement would accomplish a lot for Monsanto, the maker of Roundup, which is owned by Bayer AG, but it would “accomplish far less” for Roundup users who haven’t been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. After Chhabria’s decision, Bayer AG said it would review the future of Roundup and other weed killers with glyphosate in the U.S. residential market. The company maintains, however, that Roundup is safe. (Reuters, Law360, Law.com, Chhabria’s May 26 decision)

Judge allows Dershowitz lawsuit against CNN; ex-prof also sues Netflix

U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal of the Southern District of Florida on Tuesday refused to toss lawyer Alan Dershowitz’s $300 million defamation lawsuit against CNN. Dershowitz, a former Harvard Law School professor, had claimed that CNN misrepresented his argument on behalf of former President Donald Trump during Trump’s first impeachment hearing. A day later, Dershowitz filed another defamation suit, this time against Netflix for his portrayal in a Jeffrey Epstein docuseries. The suit said Netflix promoted false allegations of sexual misconduct against Dershowitz. (Law360 here and here, Bloomberg Law, CNBC, Law.com, the May 26 lawsuit)

Man pleads guilty to assaulting his lawyer

A New Hampshire defendant pleaded guilty Wednesday to an assault on his public defender that sent the lawyer to the intensive care unit. Dale Holloway, 38, pleaded guilty to two charges of first-degree assault. The attack happened in October 2019 in an interview room at a Manchester, New Hampshire, jail. The lawyer, Michael Davidow, has sued Hillsborough County for alleged negligence. Davidow had severe head injuries and was absent from work for 12 weeks as a result of the beating, according to the November 2020 lawsuit. (The Associated Press, the New Hampshire Union Leader, New Hampshire Public Radio)