A Missouri jury found for Monsanto, Bayer's herbicide unit, in a trial over three women's Roundup cancer claims, while Reuters reported Thursday that a Missouri judge was reviewing Bayer's proposed settlement for other claimants.
The jury returned a unanimous verdict Thursday, Oct. 29, in a lawsuit Theresa Aretino, Cynthia Fernandez and Betty Larkin filed against Monsanto in 2020. The women said they regularly used the herbicide before receiving non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnoses; their attorneys argued Roundup was defectively designed and Bayer was negligent in selling it. Fernandez died before trial.
At issue in John Durnell's case before the U.S. Supreme Court was his state-law request for a cancer warning beyond the one on Roundup's label approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The justices ruled 7-2 on June 25 that federal pesticide law displaced that claim. The ruling concerned labeling, while the Missouri trial addressed claims about product design and Bayer's sales conduct.
Reuters reported Bayer argues the federal ruling should also block design and negligence claims, while plaintiffs' lawyers dispute that reading. Bill Dodero, Bayer's U.S. general counsel and global head of litigation, told Reuters future plaintiffs would face “significant challenges” in court. Reuters reported Bayer had about 65,000 Roundup claims in U.S. state and federal courts as of Thursday.
In its 2017 human-health review, EPA concluded glyphosate posed no risks of concern when applied according to label directions. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate in Group 2A in 2015, describing it as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” IARC says Group 2A is a hazard category and does not quantify an individual’s probability of developing cancer.
Bayer's proposed class agreement would address current and future claims alleging non-Hodgkin lymphoma after Roundup exposure. It sets annual payment caps and could total up to $7.25 billion over as many as 21 years. The agreement would take effect only if a court approves it and contains no admission of liability or wrongdoing.
