Dozens of lawsuits alleging the herbicide paraquat is tied to Parkinson’s disease will be consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has decided.

U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Illinois Nancy Rosenstengel. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

Chief District Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel has been named to oversee the litigation that involved 77 actions and potential tagalong actions across 16 districts at the time the order was filed Monday.