Bayer Ordered to Pay $1.56 Billion in Roundup Cancer Trial
A Missouri jury has ordered Bayer to pay $1.56 billion to four plaintiffs who claimed that the company’s Roundup weedkiller caused injuries, including cancer. This verdict could intensify investor pressure on the German drugs and agricultural chemicals company to change its legal strategy.
The Cole County, Missouri jury found that Bayer’s Monsanto business was liable for claims of negligence, design defects, and failing to warn plaintiffs of the potential dangers of using Roundup, according to court documents.
The plaintiffs, Valorie Gunther of New York, Jimmy Draeger of Missouri, and Daniel Anderson of California, were awarded a combined $61.1 million in compensatory damages and $500 million each in punitive damages. Additionally, Draeger’s wife, Brenda, was awarded $100,000 for the harm she allegedly suffered from her husband’s disease.
Bayer has repeatedly stated that decades of studies have shown Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate, are safe for human use.
This verdict is the fourth straight loss in court for Bayer, following nine consecutive trials in which the company had been found not liable to plaintiffs. Union Investment, one of Bayer’s top 10 shareholders, has called on the company to consider trying to engage with plaintiffs to settle more cases.
Bart Rankin, partner at Forrest Weldon which represented the plaintiffs, said in a statement that the victory was the first of many on behalf of thousands of plaintiffs.
Bayer has responded, stating that it has strong arguments to get the recent verdicts overturned on appeal, claiming that courts have improperly permitted plaintiffs to misrepresent the European Union’s renewal process for glyphosate and the safety assessment by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The European Union Commission announced last week that it would renew its approval of glyphosate based on safety assessments of the European Food Agency and European Chemicals Agency after EU member states failed to give a clear opinion on the renewal.
Approximately 165,000 claims have been made against the company for personal injuries allegedly caused by Roundup, which Bayer acquired as part of its $63 billion purchase of agrochemical company Monsanto in 2018. In 2020, Bayer settled most of the then-pending Roundup cases for up to $10.9 billion, with around 50,000 claims remaining pending, according to regulatory filings.
Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Bill Berkrot
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