Roundup Litigation Status
Bayer maintains that active ingredient glyphosate is noncarcinogenic, but as of March 2024, the company has already paid $11 billion in damages for 100,000 cases with 54,000 pending cases and more expected.
Roundup is a widely used weed killer produced by Monsanto, a company owned by Bayer. The first lawsuit alleging that Roundup causes cancer concluded in 2018. Since that time, plaintiffs have filed tens of thousands of lawsuits, and Bayer has already paid billions of dollars.
Bayer experienced successful outcomes in a string of trials from October 2021 to June 2022, including a win for defendants in the high-profile Shelton case.
Current Status of Roundup Litigation
The scale of ongoing Roundup litigation means that plaintiffs frequently file new cases as others close. Here are the most recent updates on Roundup litigation hearings.
May 2024
11th Circuit Refuses to Revisit February Dismissal
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has decided against revisiting a February decision in Carson v. Monsanto. The decision dismissed arguments suggesting that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act precluded plaintiff John Carson from claiming Monsanto failed to inform customers about potential health risks associated with Roundup. Monsanto’s next step would be to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
April 2024
Trial Begins in St. Louis, Where Most Cases are Pending
A trial began on April 30 in St. Louis, Missouri, in which two women from Ohio and one from Oklahoma allege that exposure to Roundup caused their cancer. The majority of the remaining 54,000 Roundup cases—roughly 40,000—are pending in that city. Meanwhile, more trials are set to begin soon in Philadelphia and California.
Iowa Senate Signs Pesticide Legal Immunity Bill
On April 2, in a 30-19 vote, the Iowa Senate approved a bill providing legal immunity to agricultural chemical manufacturers. The law would bar lawsuits alleging that the companies didn’t inform users of health risks if the products included the necessary EPA labels. If signed into law, the bill would make Iowa the first state to provide such protections to manufacturers. The bill is now pending in the Iowa House.
March 2024
Two Wins, Two Draws for Bayer in Roundup Saga
Four Roundup lawsuits concluded in March, with verdicts for defendant Bayer in Arkansas and Philadelphia, one mistrial in Delaware where a jury couldn’t reach a verdict, and a voluntary dismissal in Sonoma County, California. The dismissal occurred a few days into the trial when a California farmer with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and his wife dropped their suit.
Plaintiff Appealing Verdict in Philadelphia Roundup Case
Carl Kline, a retired postal service worker who alleged he developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after using Roundup weedkiller, is appealing a defense verdict in his case. Kline’s lawyer said the jury hadn’t been allowed to hear key evidence at trial, including a finding by a World Health Organization body that glyphosate, Roundup’s active ingredient, is likely capable of causing cancer.
Bayer Contemplates Bankruptcy Tactic
In March, Bayer told news outlets it was contemplating using a maneuver dubbed the Texas Two-Step bankruptcy—a strategy likely aimed at halting further trials scheduled for 2024. The Texas Two-Step bankruptcy involves using a Texas law that lets companies split their assets and liabilities into separate units. The company could then have the unit loaded with liabilities file for bankruptcy protection to pursue a global settlement. Courts have previously rejected this tactic when attempted by 3M and Johnson & Johnson.
$1.56 Billion Missouri Verdict Slashed to $611 Million
A Missouri state court judge reduced a $1.56 billion jury verdict for three plaintiffs to $611 million, cutting the punitive damages awarded by almost two-thirds. The judge applied a U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that punitive damages should generally not exceed nine times the compensatory damages.
February 2024
$332 Million Verdict Slashed By 90 Percent
Four months after a jury awarded Mike Dennis $332 million in damages for cancer allegedly resulting from decades of Roundup use, Judge Kevin Enright of the San Diego Superior Court reduced the award to $28 million.
January 2024
Largest Ever Roundup Verdict Awarded in Philadelphia
In January, John McKivison, 49, was awarded a $2.25 billion verdict in the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court. McKivison alleged that using Roundup on his property for two decades caused his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis. This verdict is the largest damages award ever in a Roundup case, and Bayer said it plans to appeal.
December 2023
$3.5 Million Awarded to Philadelphia Roundup Plaintiff
After a trial in the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, a jury awarded a plaintiff $3 million in punitive damages and $500,000 in compensatory damages from Bayer. In a statement, Bayer said:
“We disagree with the jury’s divided verdict and the modest damages award that conflicts with the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence and worldwide regulatory and scientific assessments, and believe that we have strong arguments on appeal to get this verdict overturned. We have a winning record in the Roundup litigation–having won nine of the last 14 cases at trial–and have resolved the majority of claims filed in this litigation.”
November 2023
9th Circuit Grants Bayer a Win
In November, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that California’s mandate for products containing glyphosate to carry a warning label is unconstitutional, infringing upon agricultural producers’ First Amendment rights against compelled speech. The ruling is a win for Bayer, as glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup.
October 2023
Cancer Patient Wins $175 Million in Roundup Trial
A Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas jury ruled in favor of Ernest Caranci in his case against Monsanto, awarding the plaintiff $25 million in compensatory damages and $150 million in punitive damages. Caranci alleged his regular, unprotected use of Roundup over 20 years caused him to develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The case was the first Roundup case in Philadelphia’s mass tort program to go to trial. Bayer said it plans to appeal the verdict.
Trial Begins in St. Louis
A new trial against Bayer for its product Roundup began in St. Louis, Missouri, on August 1, 2022.
The trial involves three plaintiffs who claim that Monsanto’s patented ingredient glyphosate was the cause of their lymphoma. The three plaintiffs in the St. Louis trial are in their 60s and 70s. Monsanto continues to maintain that Roundup does not cause cancer
Jury Rules in Favor of Bayer in St. Louis Trial
The jury sided with Bayer in the trial involving the three plaintiffs in their 60s and 70s. This was one in a string of six consecutive victories for Bayer as of November 9, 2022. However, Bayer has set aside $4.5 billion for Roundup settlements, an indication that the company is settling the strongest cases while taking weaker cases to trial for strategic reasons.
Appeal Granted in Major Case
On August 2, 2022, Monsanto petitioned the 11th Circuit regardings its recent appellate decision. This action concerns a long-running case involving Georgia plaintiff Dr. John Carson, who filed his initial lawsuit in 2017.
On July 12, 2022, the court granted an appeal to Carson. In the original case, Carson claimed that Bayer failed to warn consumers of the product’s dangers. The court overturned this case on the grounds that the EPA had approved the product’s label.
The appellate court made the July 2022 decision to overturn part of Carson’s trial verdict on the grounds that state regulations carry an excess of latitude and that the EPA registration process isn’t strict enough to represent the law.
This appeal opens the door to further appeals, as other cases around the country have taken the Carson ruling as a precedent regarding Monsanto’s failure to warn.
En Banc Hearing Scheduled for Case Involving Georgia Doctor
On December 19, 2022, the 11th Circuit granted Bayer’s request to set aside its previous ruling in favor of John Carson and review the case in an en banc rehearing. The en banc hearing will address whether policies set by federal agencies like the EPA can preempt state law. The hearing is scheduled for the week of June 12, 2023.
Bayer Warned to Reconsider Stance
July 4, 2022, brought another considerable blow to Bayer in the form of a unanimous Ninth Circuit panel publication advising the company that it should seriously reconsider its claim that Roundup is safe for humans and animals.
The publication points out that in approving the product, the EPA did not consider whether its contents had the potential to cause cancer.
Supreme Court Denies Bayer’s Request
In June 2022, the Supreme Court denied Bayer’s requests for appeals of two different previous cases: the Pilliod case and the Hardeman case. This denial comes as a blow to Bayer’s entire litigation strategy.
Bayer’s approach to winning the ongoing lawsuit, called the Five-Point Plan to Close the Roundup Litigation, hinged largely on achieving a Supreme Court appeal.
The company hoped that a Supreme Court ruling in its favor on the matter of Roundup labeling and the question of failure to warn would prevent further lawsuits at the state level. The denial of the claim leaves Bayer at the mercy of ongoing state-level lawsuits as it faces the risk of unpredictable outcomes.
Pennsylvania Finds Class-Action Workaround
In an interesting development, on June 4, 2022, a Philadelphia administrative judge ordered around 100 pending Roundup lawsuits gathered into a Pennsylvania class-action lawsuit.
Since Monsanto cannot be the defendant in a state-level case, the judge instead named Nouryon, a Pennsylvania-based chemical maker. The class action has attracted additional plaintiffs from outside the state.
As of May 2022, Bayer has paid approximately $11 billion in verdicts and settlements. However, recent developments, such as the Supreme Court’s appeals denial, the approved appeal of the Carson case and new official statements undermining EPA authority, all suggest that Bayer may be paying plaintiffs for some time to come.
What is Roundup , and why is it at the center of litigation?
Roundup is a popular weed killer used in both commercial and residential settings. Monsanto developed the product in the 1970s. Its active ingredient is glyphosate, a chemical created and patented by Monsanto. This chemical lies at the center of thousands of lawsuits against Bayer, the company that now owns Monsanto.
The World Health Organization lists glyphosate as a “probable human carcinogen.” However, the EPA approved Monsanto’s use of glyphosate in Roundup. EPA labeling marks the product as safe for both people and animals.
Conflicting institutional attitudes toward glyphosate’s potential to cause harm, combined with a lack of conclusive long-term studies on the chemical, have led to a messy legal situation for Bayer.
Over the past several years, thousands of plaintiffs have come forward with the allegation that they developed cancer and other health conditions as a result of using Roundup.
So far, no study has conclusively proven that glyphosate causes cancer, although one study found that Roundup use could increase the risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma by 41 percent. A large number of the plaintiffs who have come forward with claims against Bayer have received diagnoses of this form of cancer.
Who qualifies for filing a Roundup lawsuit?
Although tens of thousands of plaintiffs have already come forward, countless more will likely follow suit. Qualification for a Roundup lawsuit typically involves a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma or some other form of cancer, combined with a history of Roundup exposure.
Litigators can establish proof of Roundup exposure through a combination of employment records, medical bills, receipts and bills of purchase.
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