Seattle and Washington have become the latest cities to file a lawsuit against Monsanto, joining San Diego, San Jose, Oakland and Berkeley in California. These West-coast cities are suing the multinational corporation for tens of millions of dollars for knowingly promoting poisonous polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that endanger the life of animals, the environment, and humans. Wsws.org reports: The Seattle lawsuit holds the corporation responsible for PCB contamination that finds its way into the city’s stormwater that flows into the Lower Duwamish River, designated a federal Superfund site because of its high levels of pollution and the high cost of cleanup. These lawsuits are based on a precedent set last year in a California case against lead paint manufacturers in which the prosecution, after a 12-year legal battle, won a $1.15 billion judgment using a new application of California’s “public nuisance” law. Under the ruling, liability was imposed against the defendant companies because they had actively sold and promoted lead paint with actual or constructive knowledge about its health hazards. Through this same framework it has become possible to build a case against Monsanto for actions taken over 50 years ago. In previous legal suits, (namely in Alabama, where the company [...]