Hoerner
BELLEVILLE – Virus concerns caused St. Clair County Associate Judge Kevin Hoerner to delay trial on claims that weed killer paraquat caused Parkinson’s disease, for 28 days.
On March 23, he granted a motion of defendants Syngenta, Chevron, and Growmark to continue an April 12 trial date.
He has set it to start May 10.
No judge has held trial in St. Clair County for more than a year.
Defendants moved to stay the paraquat trial or continue it on March 17, warning that trials act as super spreaders of the virus.
Attorney Joseph Orlet of Clayton, Mo. wrote that criminal jury trials are on hold and even relatively minor civil jury trials are on hold.