Paraquat Parkinson’s Disease Settlement Payout Amounts Still Being Finalized

Judge has canceled the first bellwether trial, which was slated to begin on October 14, as lawyers continue to finalize details of a global Paraquat settlement for individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

Seeing that lawyers appear to be genuinely working toward a global settlement, the U.S. District Judge presiding over all federal Paraquat lawsuits is giving the parties more time to work out the details of an agreement that may resolve thousands of claims, extending a stay that pauses all deadlines in the litigation until at least January 2026.

Over the past four years, Syngenta and Chevron have faced a steadily growing number of Paraquat Parkinson’s disease lawsuits brought in federal courts nationwide. Currently, there are at least 6,300 product liability lawsuits filed against the companies, each alleging the manufacturers failed to provide adequate warnings to consumers that exposure to the weed killer could cause neurological damage.

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 after harvesting, to help dry them out for processing. However, many countries have banned Paraquat due to its known high toxicity, and emerging evidence in recent years has shown that farmers and agricultural workers face a risk of Parkinson’s disease from exposure, even when the recommended handling instructions are followed.

Given common facts and law connecting all Paraquat Parkinson’s disease lawsuits, all federal claims were consolidated into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in June 2021 in the Southern District of Illinois, where U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel is presiding over coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Judge Rosenstengel had been preparing the litigation for a series of bellwether trials this year, to help test how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony likely to be repeated throughout the claims. However, in a court order (PDF) issued on September 29, she announced that the date for the first trial, scheduled to begin on October 14, has been vacated.

The decision to cancel the trial came as part of an order that extended a stay put on the Paraquat litigation in May 2025, as negotiations to resolve the litigation heated up.

The stay was put in place after the parties indicated that they were nearing a Paraquat Parkinson’s disease lawsuit settlement agreement, and it was set to expire late last month. This latest order indicates the stay is being extended again, at least until January 5, 2026. The judge said the court will revisit whether to continue the stay after that date.

If the parties determine that no settlement can be reached, case-specific discovery would continue for the bellwether trials. However, it is unclear what the schedule for those trials would look like.

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.

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