Welcome to Critical Mass, Law.com's weekly briefing on class actions and mass torts. Monsanto just made a move to eradicate last month's $289M verdict. Also, do you remember that news story about women who were lured into having unnecessary transvaginal mesh surgeries? There's an update, and it identifies a law firm involved. And a federal judge has sent half the class actions over Uber's data breach to arbitration.

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Plaintiff DeWayne “Lee” Johnson alleged that exposure to certain Monsanto glyphosate-based herbicides, including Roundup, caused him to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Monsanto: Evidence (or Lack Of) Should Exterminate $289M Verdict

Monsanto asked a San Francisco judge on Tuesday to vacate a $289 million verdict over its herbicide Roundup. Here's my story on Monsanto's motion for new trial and motion notwithstanding the verdict, filed by Sandra Edwards (Farella Braun). Both filings argued that plaintiff Dewayne “Lee” Johnson didn't show enough evidence that Roundup caused non-Hodgkin's lymphoma—either in general, or in his particular case.

It's much the same argument Monsanto made throughout the trial, which largely centered on scientific studies and regulatory findings. Monsanto also revived its earlier claims about “significant prejudicial misconduct” by Johnson's attorney, R. Brent Wisner (Baum Hedlund), such as calling on jurors to “change the world” or inferring there was champagne on ice waiting at Monsanto's headquarters (Monsanto also failed to get Wisner kicked off the plaintiffs leadership team in the federal MDL last week).

But here's something to note: Both motions cite a 2017 ruling vacating a $417 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson in a trial alleging its baby powdercaused a woman to get ovarian cancer. In that ruling, the judge found the evidence was lacking, noting “the best that can be said is that there was (and is) an ongoing debate in the scientific and medical community about whether talc more probably than not causes ovarian cancer and thus giving rise to a duty to warn.”

Law Firm Accused of Unnecessary Mesh Surgery

The New York Times had an update last week on its shocking story about a federal investigation into whether women were forced into unnecessary surgeries to remove transvaginal mesh devices. Here's the updated story, which says that federal prosecutors in New York have issued subpoenas.

The investigation ensnares doctors, lending firms and, yes, lawyers. In fact, the article makes particular mention of a Minnesota personal injury firm called McSweeney Langevin, which is facing a malpractice suit by a former client, Jerri Plummer, who claims she was lured into having one such surgery.

U.S. District Judge James Moody in Arkansas refused to send the case to arbitration last month. He didn't mince words (see the order here): The lawyers “somehow got their hands on Plummer's cell phone number and, after instilling fear of death in her, solicited her to not only undergo a surgical procedure in another state, but also to allow them to represent her in a future action against Boston Scientific. Rhett McSweeney and David Langevin are licensed attorneys; Plummer has a tenth-grade education and is inexperienced in reading contracts—she had 'no idea' what an arbitration agreement was until her current attorneys explained it to her.”

I reached out to Rhett McSweeney and David Langevin. Their attorney, Ed Lowther, of Wright, Lindsey & Jennings, wrote this back to me:

“We will be appealing the Court's ruling denying the motion to compel arbitration, and my clients welcome the opportunity to prove to the arbitrator that Ms. Plummer's claims against them are wholly without merit.”

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Judge Slams Brakes on Uber Data Breach Cases

A federal judge in Los Angeles wiped out half the cases over Uber's data breach, sending them to arbitration. According to my story, U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez relied heavily on the Second Circuit's 2017 decision in Meyer v. Uber, which found that a “reasonable user” of a smartphone would understand the registration process. He also rescheduled a hearing this week on motions for lead counsel to Oct. 1.

Interestingly, Gutierrez addressed each case individually. Eric Artrip (Mastando & Artrip), whose case is one of seven that remain, couldn't tell me why Uber didn't move to arbitrate all the lawsuits. But he had this intriguing thought:

“They did not move to compel arbitration in our case, and other cases, leading us to believe they have information in their file that indicates their motions would not be granted. At this stage, we don't know what's in their file.”

Talc Tossed Out Over Bristol-Myers

A Delaware state court judge tossed out-of-state plaintiffs in more than 200 casesalleging Johnson & Johnson's baby powder caused women to get ovarian cancer, citing the U.S. Supreme Court's Bristol-Myers Squibb v. Superior Court of Californiadecision. Here's Law.com's story by Tom McParland. No details on just how many cases were affected, but Tom told me it “sounded like it was the bulk of them.”

And in other talc news: A Los Angeles jury is deliberating in the sixth trial over whether Johnson & Johnson's baby powder caused mesothelioma. Here's my prior coverage of the case. Courtroom View Network, by the way, has this fascinating update from Tuesday: Jurors told the judge they were at an impasse.

Here's what else is going on:

➤➤ Card Accord: Visa, Mastercard and several other U.S. banks agreed on Monday to pay $6.2 billion to settle an antitrust class action over card swipe fees. According to Law.com's story here, the litigation has been going on for 13 years. But check this out: Two years ago, the Second Circuit threw out a previous deal for $7.5 billion because one class of plaintiffs wasn't adequately represented by plaintiffs lawyers, who stood to get nearly $545 million in fees. Class counsel was Robins Kaplan, Berger & Montague and Robbins Geller. Arnold & Porter repped Visa, while Mastercard was represented by Paul Weiss.

➤➤ Lowdown on “Low T”: More than 6,000 lawsuits brought over “low testosterone” treatments have officially come to an end. According to my story here, AbbVie and Abbott have reached a global settlement that resolves 4,000 cases. Other defendants had reached settlements earlier this year. The cases started out with a bang for plaintiffs attorneys: AbbVie and Abbott were hit with $150 million and $140 million verdicts last year. But they ultimately ended in a whimper after U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly vacated those awards, and juries came out with several defense verdicts.

➤➤ Explosive Lawsuit: The first lawsuit over last week's gas explosions in Massachusetts has been filed—and it's a class action. My story (see here) says that Morgan & Morgan filed the case Tuesday on behalf of thousands of residents of Andover, North Andover and Lawrence. It seeks compensation for lost property value and income, and relocation costs, but not injuries or property damages. Also, on Tuesday: Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced a relief fund that includes a $10 million contribution from Columbia Gas, the defendant in the lawsuit.