Chevron wins dismissal of public nuisance claims based on alleged product liability

Client(s) Chevron Corporation

Jones Day client Chevron Corporation secured dismissal of all public nuisance claims asserted in the pending multidistrict litigation addressing purported liability for sales of the pesticide paraquat. In the MDL, hundreds of plaintiffs from across the nation have filed claims against Chevron and others involved in paraquat distribution alleging that they developed Parkinson's disease from exposure to paraquat. Among other legal theories, many plaintiffs sought to recover on a theory of public nuisance, asserting that defendants had created a public nuisance by producing, advertising, and selling paraquat. In a sweeping order adopting many of the arguments in Chevron's motion to dismiss, the court rejected the public nuisance theory across all plaintiffs. As the court explained, the plaintiffs could not properly seek relief under public nuisance when their allegations sounded in product liability. The decision follows a series of successful motions filed in paraquat litigation on Chevron's behalf in jurisdictions across the country, including state courts in California, Pennsylvania, Washington, and elsewhere.

In Re: Paraquat Products Liability Litigation v. Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC et al., No. 3-21-MD-03004-NJR (S.D. Ill.)