In 2017, plaintiff Donnetta Stephens, 67, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer that develops in the lymphatic system. Stephens claimed that she began using the weed-killer spray, Roundup, a glyphosate-based Monsanto product, in her yard in 1985 and that she continued to use the product, as need, until 2017. She alleged that her cancer was caused by her exposure to the glyphosate-based spray. Stephens sued the manufacturer of the product, Monsanto Co.; the retailer that sold the product, Crown Ace Hardware; and the distributor of the products, Wilbur-Ellis Nutrition, LLC (formally Wilbur-Ellis Feed, LLC and Wilbur-Ellis Co., LLC). Stephens alleged that Monsanto was negligent for the defective design of the Roundup product and that all of the defendants were negligent and strictly liable for failing to warn about the product’s dangerous condition. Stephens initially filed a lawsuit against the defendants in San Francisco County Superior Court (Docket No. CGC-20-58576411), but the complaint was coordinated with over 250 other cases that shared common questions of fact or law regarding Roundup products, and involved many of the same defendants. The cases were consolidated into the Roundup Judicial Council Coordination Proceedings (JCCP No. 4953) in Alameda County Superior Court. However, Stephens’ counsel moved for trial preference, and it was granted in December 2020. As a result, Stephens’ case was set for trial on July 19, 2021, in San Bernardino County Superior Court. Prior to trial, Stephens dismissed her claims against Crown Ace Hardware and Wilbur-Ellis Nutrition. The matter ultimately proceeded to trial against Monsanto only. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that the glyphosate-based Roundup brand products were carcinogenic and that Monsanto failed to warn Stephens and other consumers about the dangers of being exposed to the product’s chemicals. Monsanto’s counsel argued that scientific studies in humans and in animals show that Roundup does not cause cancer and that the same conclusion was reached by every regulatory agency around the world that has independently evaluated the science, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Counsel also argued that Stephens was exposed to only a trivial amount of Roundup, as Stephens sprayed the product for less than an hour per year on her 300 square foot yard., Stephens was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2017. She underwent chemotherapy to treat her cancer. The plaintiff’s expert in carcinogenic substances, Dr. Christopher Portier, cited numerous studies that allegedly showed a link between glyphosate causing lymphoma. The plaintiff’s other toxicology expert, Dr. William Sawyer, opined that Stephens’ Roundup exposure more than doubled her risk of developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The defense’s cancer experts testified that the weight of the scientific evidence demonstrated that glyphosate does not cause cancer. One of those experts, Dr. Cristian Tomasetti, an epidemiology (cancer) expert, testified that most cancers are caused by random mutations that happen in the human body naturally over time as cells divide and copy. He further opined that over 95 percent of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma mutations are the result of those natural copy errors.