$275 Million Verdict for Students Poisoned by PCBs at Washington State School
Won by Friedman Rubin.
A King County jury awarded $275 million to thirteen Sky Valley Education Center students and families who suffered neurological injuries from PCB-contaminated light fixtures manufactured by Monsanto.
What happened
For years, students at Sky Valley Education Center in Monroe, Washington attended classes in a building whose light fixtures and caulk contained polychlorinated biphenyls, a chemical class that Monsanto produced from the 1930s until Congress banned PCB manufacturing in 1979. The plaintiffs, thirteen children and family members, alleged that chronic PCB exposure caused documented neurological harm, with some facing the prospect of lasting cognitive deficits.
Monsanto, now owned by Bayer AG, had manufactured PCBs under the trade name Aroclor and sold them for use in electrical components and construction materials. Plaintiffs argued at trial that Monsanto knew for decades that PCBs accumulated in the body and disrupted neurological development, yet continued production and concealed the risks. The Sky Valley building was eventually identified as heavily contaminated, and more than two hundred students, parents, and teachers ultimately filed suit.
Rick Friedman of Friedman Rubin, joined by co-counsel from Trial Lawyers for Justice, tried the case over roughly two months before a King County jury. The trial was the fifth in the Sky Valley PCB litigation. Three earlier juries had returned verdicts of $62 million, $185 million, and $21 million, totaling approximately $268 million for fourteen plaintiffs; a fourth trial ended in a mistrial after jurors deadlocked.
On October 13, 2022, the jury returned a verdict of $275 million: $55 million in compensatory damages and $220 million in punitive damages. Individual awards to the seven student plaintiffs ranged from roughly $20 million to $52.5 million; three parent plaintiffs received $5 million each. Bayer stated after the verdict that it would pursue post-trial motions and appeal, citing what it characterized as errors at trial and insufficient proof.
At the time of the verdict, Friedman noted that approximately sixteen additional Sky Valley trials remained ahead. The case is styled Allison, et al. v. Monsanto Company, No. 18-2-26074-4.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
- 1.Courtroom View Network: Jury Hits Monsanto With $275M Verdict in Latest Trial Over PCB Exposure in Washington State School (Oct. 2022)·Archived copy
- 2.Law.com via Inner Circle: Monsanto Hit With $275M Verdict in Latest PCB Exposure Trial (Oct. 2022)·Archived copy
- 3.The Herald (Everett, WA): $275 Million Verdict for Toxic Exposures at Monroe School (Oct. 17, 2022)·Archived copy
More proven verdicts from Friedman Rubin
All Friedman Rubin proven verdicts →A King County jury awarded $857 million in December 2023 to seven people, five former students and two parent volunteers, who said they were sickened by PCBs leaking from light fixtures at the Sky Valley Education Center in Monroe, Washington. The verdict included $73 million in compensatory damages and $784 million in punitive damages against Monsanto and its successor Pharmacia. In April 2024 a King County judge cut the punitive award to $365 million under Missouri's statutory cap on punitive damages, reducing the total to $438 million. Monsanto appealed, and Bayer said in February 2026 that Monsanto had settled the remaining Sky Valley jury verdicts on confidential terms, so what was ultimately paid is not public.
A King County jury awarded three Monroe, Washington teachers $185 million after finding that PCBs manufactured by Monsanto leached from fluorescent light ballasts at their school and caused permanent neurological injuries.
A Clark County jury awarded retired Air Force veteran Michael Washington and his wife Josephine $104 million after finding that propofol manufacturers Teva Parenteral Medicines and Baxter Healthcare knowingly supplied oversized anesthetic vials that clinics routinely reused, spreading hepatitis C to patients.
A King County jury awarded $100 million to four plaintiffs who suffered neurological, hormonal, and cancer-related illnesses after years of exposure to PCBs from defective fluorescent light fixtures at a Monroe, Washington school.
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