Paraquat MDL Lawsuit Deadlines Extended Again, as Settlement Details Finalized

Deadlines in three bellwether claims being prepared for trial have been stayed until September 26, as lawyers continue to work to finalize details of a Paraquat Parkinson’s disease settlement that is expected to resolve all MDL claims.

On Friday, the U.S. District Judge presiding over all federal Paraquat lawsuits agreed to extend a stay on all deadlines until at least September 26, to give lawyers a chance to finish hammering out the details of a Parkinson’s disease settlement that could resolve thousands of claims brought against manufacturers of the controversial weed killer.

Paraquat has been widely used for decades to kill broadleaf weeds and grasses, as well as control weeds in orchards. The herbicide is also sometimes sprayed on plants before harvest, to dry them out. However, many countries have banned Paraquat since it is highly toxic, and evidence has emerged in recent years that farmers and agricultural workers face a risk of Parkinson’s disease from Paraquat, even when the recommended handling instructions are followed.

As a result of the failure to warn about these risks, more than 6,300 Paraquat Parkinson’s disease lawsuits are currently being pursued against Syngenta and Chevron, each alleging that the manufacturers knew, or should have known, the weed killer could cause neurological damage and should have provided adequate warnings and instructions on how to better protect themselves from Paraquat side effects.

Since June 2021, all Paraquat lawsuits brought throughout the federal court system have been centralized as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the Southern District of Illinois, where U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel is presiding over coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

The judge has been preparing the litigation for a series of bellwether test trials, which the parties would use to gauge how juries will weigh the strengths and weaknesses of each side’s evidence and arguments. However, the trials may not be necessary if a global Paraquat settlement agreement is reached first.

In April, the Court identified three of the bellwether lawsuits that are candidates for the first scheduled trial, which was previously expected to begin on October 14, 2025, with a second bellwether trial previously set to start on April 6, 2026.

However, that same month, the parties announced that a tentative Paraquat settlement agreement had been reached, and filed a joint motion seeking to put the litigation on hold while the details were finalized. Judge Rosenstengel issued an order to stay case-specific discovery deadlines in the Paraquat lawsuits in May 2025, asking that the parties update her by June 11.

The judge issued another order in June, extending that deadline until July 21, and in a text-only order posted to the docket on Friday, she granted the parties yet another extension, keeping case-specific discovery deadlines on hold until at least September 26, 2025.

If no settlement materializes, case-specific discovery would continue with the potential bellwether claims, but it is unclear whether the previously scheduled trial dates may be delayed. 

While the outcome of these trials will not have any binding impact on other plaintiffs, they will be closely watched to help gauge how juries are likely to respond to certain evidence and testimony likely to be repeated throughout the litigation if a Paraquat settlement is not finalized.