Published August 3, 2026
The judge overseeing the federal paraquat Parkinson's disease MDL (In re: Paraquat Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3004, S.D. Ill.) has issued Case Management Order No. 25 — a "Lone Pine" order aimed at plaintiffs who declined the litigation's settlement offer and are continuing to pursue their cases individually.
A Lone Pine order is a case-management tool that requires plaintiffs to come forward early with evidence supporting the core elements of their claim, rather than waiting until later in the case. In the paraquat MDL, that means nonsettling plaintiffs now have to assemble documentation covering their exposure history, their diagnosis, and expert support for causation, well ahead of trial.
Under CMO 25, plaintiffs who opted out of the settlement must meet with the court-appointed special master within 30 days to discuss their offer and confirm their decision in writing. Beyond that, they need to complete standard case disclosures — a plaintiff fact sheet, initial Rule 26(a) disclosures, and medical record summaries — along with documentary proof of paraquat exposure. The specificity required scales with how recent the exposure was: recent use needs documentary evidence, exposure from the last couple of decades can be supported by a sworn affidavit with corroboration, and pre-1995 exposure can be supported with family affidavits. Plaintiffs also need a medical diagnosis dated at least ten years after exposure, expert reports addressing causation and alternative causes, and a certification from their attorney that the claim has been properly investigated.
The order doesn't set a single hard deadline for all of this, but it does specify a process for noncompliance: after notice of a deficiency and a 30-day cure period, an unresolved case can be referred for an order to show cause, which could lead to dismissal with prejudice.
If you're part of the paraquat MDL and didn't accept the settlement offer, this order raises the practical stakes of staying in litigation — cases that can't produce the required documentation are now at real risk of being dismissed. If you were exposed to paraquat and have been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and haven't yet spoken with an attorney about your options, a free eligibility review can help you understand where your case stands. See Atumio's Paraquat case page for a free, no-obligation review, or start your case review directly.