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A pair of major metro Atlanta-area trials are expected to open this week against Monsanto and Amazon Logistics, with Courtroom View Network delivering gavel-to-gavel, streaming coverage of each.
Amazon Logistics Faces Trial Over Child Injured When Struck By Delivery Van
Openings are expected Monday afternoon against Amazon Logistics and its delivery partner over the severe leg injury a child suffered when he was struck by a delivery van in 2022.
According to documents in the case, an eight-year-old child was struck by a delivery van driven by Jawonn Cowan as the child crossed a Tyrone, Georgia neighborhood road on an electric bike. The collision left the child with a degloving injury to his leg, which required multiple skin grafts and left him with lifelong scarring.
Just before the crash, Cowan, who was driving the van for FlyFella Logistics, a delivery partner of Amazon Logistics, stopped his van to allow a group of children to cross the road. Plaintiff, the injured child’s father, claims three of the children crossed safely on foot, but he contends Cowan failed to make sure all of the children were safely across before accelerating, ultimately running over the injured child.
Defendants contend Cowan stopped and allowed a group of children to cross the street, then looked both ways before accelerating. Defendants claim that, just as Cowan accelerated, the injured child unexpectedly entered the street on his electric bike. The defense contends Cowan was not negligent, and instead, the child's father and a neighbor who had agreed to watch the children failed to adequately supervise the child.
The child’s father is represented by Fried Goldberg’s Michael Goldberg. Amazon Logistics is represented by R. Dal Burton and Jason Stewart, of Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker. Thompson & Carter Entities, d/b/a FlyFella Logistics, and Cowan are represented by E. Wayne Satterfield and Billy Fawcett, of Hall Booth Smith, according to court documents.
Trial in the Gwinnett County State Court case, before Judge Jaletta Smith, is expected to take roughly four days.
Likely First Georgia Roundup Cancer Trial Set to Open
Openings are expected Wednesday in what may be Georgia's first state court jury trial over allegations linking Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer to cancer.
According to court documents, John Barnes claims he developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma after decades of using Monsanto’s Roundup-brand herbicide on his Dalton, Georgia yard. Barnes contends his cancer, which entered remission but now requires ongoing maintenance-chemotherapy and threatens to return, was caused by exposure to glyphosate in the herbicide.
Barnes claims Monsanto failed to warn him of the risks of glyphosate, despite evidence that the chemical caused cancer.
He’s seeking both compensatory and punitive damages in the case.
For its part, Monsanto contends there is no valid link between glyphosate and cancer and claims his use of the weed killer was sporadic over the years. The company adds that Barnes' treating physicians have never said his disease was caused by the chemical.
The case is one of thousands of claims nationwide alleging the glyphosate in Roundup causes cancer. Jury verdicts across the country have been split. Last October, for example, a San Diego County (California) Superior Court jury,, handed down a $332 million verdict, including $325 million in punitives, after finding Monsanto responsible for a California man’s non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Five months earlier, jurors in Missouri cleared the company of responsibility for the cancer a woman developed after using the weed killer for years while gardening.
Plaintiffs are represented by Roy Barnes and John Bevis of the Barnes Law Group; Kyle Findley and Noah Wexler, of Arnold & Itkin; and Frank Bayuk, Bradley Pratt, and Christopher Lambden, of Bayuk Pratt.
The defense is represented by William Holley II, and R. Thomas Warburton, of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings; John Kalas, of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough; and Robert Ingram, of Moore Ingram Johnson & Steele.
Trial in Cobb County State Court, before Judge Jane Manning, is expected to take roughly three weeks.
CVN will stream both proceedings live and on-demand, and provide updates via its news page.
Updated 8/13/24 to reflect the anticipated date for openings in the Monsanto trial as well as updated attorney names in that proceeding.
Email Arlin Crisco at acrisco@cvn.com.
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