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February 2023 Paraquat Update

February 2023 Paraquat Update


Thank you for entrusting The Smith Law Firm, PLLC, Shenaq PC, and the Law Offices of Ezequiel Reyna, Jr., P.C. with your case. Your case is very important to us, and we appreciate the opportunity to represent you in this matter. We recently mailed you a case update letter. If you do not receive this update letter by the end of March, please reach out to our office to ensure we have your correct contact information. Your update letter may ask you to send specific information to our firm so that we can best prepare your case. Please do as instructed in your letter as quickly as possible.

As a reminder, legal proceedings related to consumer products, like Paraquat, often involve thousands of plaintiffs from all over the country. This can be overwhelming for the federal court system. To accommodate the number of lawsuits filed in this type of litigation, the legal system has developed a special procedure to simplify the litigation process and resolve common issues. This procedure is known as multidistrict litigation (“MDL”). MDLs typically involve cases in which a large number of plaintiffs file lawsuits against the same company over the same issue. MDL cases are transferred to a single federal district court. That court then handles all pretrial proceedings for the lawsuits.

Again, in this case, Paraquat litigation is part of an MDL. This means that all cases filed in federal court alleging that Paraquat exposure causes Parkinson’s Disease must be filed in the designated federal district court, which in this case is the United States District Court of the Southern District of Illinois. Once your case is filed and your Plaintiff Assessment Questionnaire (“PAQ”) complete, we are at the mercy of the court as to the speed with which your case will move through the legal system. The Southern District of Illinois has reset the first Paraquat trial for October of this year. Therefore, we will likely not have other substantive updates until the end of the year. If you have any updates regarding your case or contact information, please call us at (832) 568-7435.