Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Monsanto Company v. Edwin Hardeman
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 19-16636, 19-16708 · judgment May 14, 2021
Before the decision, about 5× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for counsel who has won certiorari before, a Ninth Circuit decision below, and a circuit split argued in the petition.
Questions presented
Petitioner manufactures the herbicide Roundup. For decades, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has exercised its delegated authority under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to find that Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate, do not cause cancer in humans. EPA has authorized Roundup for sale, repeatedly approved Roundup’s labeling without a cancer warning, and recently informed pesticide registrants that including a cancer warning on the labeling of a glyphosate-based pesticide would render it “misbranded” in violation of federal law. And in a provision of FIFRA entitled “Uniformity,” Congress explicitly barred States from “impos[ing] … any requirements for labeling … in addition to or different from those required under [FIFRA].” 7 U.S.C. §§136v(a)-(b). This case is one of thousands across the country in which individuals have nonetheless alleged that petitioner violated a state-law duty to warn that exposure to Roundup could cause cancer. The Ninth Circuit concluded that respondent’s claims were not preempted by FIFRA and upheld the admission of expert testimony on causation that relied on little more than subjective intuitions rather than the reliable application of scientific principles. The questions presented are:
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Whether FIFRA preempts a state-law failureto-warn claim where the warning cannot be added to a product without EPA approval and EPA has repeatedly concluded that the warning is not appropriate.
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Whether the Ninth Circuit’s standard for admitting expert testimony—which departs from other circuits’ standards—is inconsistent with this Court’s precedent and Federal Rule of Evidence 702. (i)
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Seth P. Waxman
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
For respondent
David C. Frederick
Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 4 conferences
Amicus briefs
8 cert-stage
Proceedings
- Jun 21 2022Petition DENIED.
- Jun 13 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/16/2022.
- May 25 2022Supplemental brief of respondent Edwin Hardeman filed. (Distributed)
- May 24 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/9/2022.
- May 23 2022Supplemental brief of petitioner Monsanto Company filed. (Distributed)
- May 10 2022Brief amicus curiae of United States filed.
- Dec 13 2021The Solicitor General is invited to file a brief in this case expressing the views of the United States.
- Nov 23 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/10/2021.
- Nov 22 2021Reply of petitioner Monsanto Company filed. (Distributed)
- Nov 03 2021Brief of respondent Edwin Hardeman in opposition filed.
- Oct 04 2021Brief amicus curiae of Retail Litigation Center, Inc. filed.
- Oct 04 2021Brief amicus curiae of Washington Legal Foundation filed.
- Oct 01 2021Brief amicus curiae of Product Liability Advisory Council, Inc. filed.
- Sep 30 2021Brief amicus curiae of Lawyers for Civil Justice filed.
- Sep 13 2021Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including November 3, 2021.
- Sep 10 2021Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 4, 2021 to November 3, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
- Sep 03 2021Response Requested. (Due October 4, 2021)
- Sep 01 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/27/2021.
- Sep 01 2021Brief amici curiae of U.S. Chamber of Commerce, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Sep 01 2021Brief amicus curiae of Atlantic Legal Foundation filed. (Distributed)
- Aug 31 2021Brief amicus curiae of CropLife America filed. (Distributed)
- Aug 25 2021Letter to Clerk of Atlantic Legal Foundation not accepted for filing. (August 25, 2021 - See Rule 15.5)
- Aug 25 2021Letter to the Clerk of CropLife America not accepted for filing. (August 25, 2021 - See Rule 15.5)
- Aug 24 2021Waiver of right of respondent Edwin Hardeman to respond filed.
- Aug 16 2021Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 17, 2021)