You know those commercials you see on late-night TV asking if you are a Roundup user recently diagnosed with non-Hodkin's lymphoma? Well, you might start seeing a lot less of them - finally.
The Virginia lawyer representing a plaintiff who won a $289 million verdict in the ongoing litigation against Bayer has been charged with extortion. According to reports, Tim Litzenburg, a Charlottesville, Virginia attorney, has been charged with extortion after threatening to "to inflict substantial financial and reputational harm" against two unnamed companies unless he is paid a $200 million consulting fee.
According to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Litzenburg has been charged with transmission of interstate communications with intent to extort, conspiracy and attempted extortion.
According to court documents, Litzenburg suggested in October that the unnamed Company 1 could avoid future costs associated with litigation, reputational damage and a drop in stock prices if it hired him as a consultant for $200 million.
The document goes on to say that Litzenburg and an unnamed accomplice would steer prospective litigants away from the Roundup case as part of the deal. According to the complaint, Litzenburg called his $200 million consulting fee "fair" and promised to unleash a public relations "nightmare" against the companies involved. He expected to resolve the issue by the end of the year or Company 1 would face further litigation by January.
The criminal complaint, signed by federal judge Joel Hoppe, states that Litzenburg also agreed to steer complainants away from Company 2. According to published reports by CBS, spokespersons for Bayer and Monsanto said they are not the unnamed victims in the complaint. Bayer acquired Monsanto last year.
Litigants claiming that Roundup was responsible for their non-Hodgkin's lymphoma won a flurry of awards in 2018 and 2019, including a $2 billion verdict earlier this year. There are thousands of other cases still awaiting adjudication.