In a radical departure from her tentative ruling, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Suzanne Bolanos ruled on Oct. 22, 2018 that Monsanto pay both compensatory and punitive damages to Dewayne Johnson for developing cancer from his long-term exposure to Roundup. The judge’s tentative ruling in early October indicated she would completely set aside punitive damages or give the company a new trial. She did neither. Judge Bolanos awarded $78.6 million in total damages to Johnson.
Commenting to Bloomberg, Steven Kazan said Johnson and his lawyers were probably “pleasantly surprised.” Interim rulings “are really an indication of what the judge is thinking, or maybe what she’s worried about getting wrong,” Kazan said. While judges usually stand by tentative rulings, Bolanos “may well have been doing a bit of ‘devil’s advocate’ to test her conclusions,” Kazan added.
The outcome of Johnson’s case has the potential to shape thousands of similar cases filed in courts across the U.S. Read the full story here.