Supreme Court Delivers Major Legal Win to Bayer in Roundup Cancer Lawsuits

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bayer in a major case involving its Roundup weedkiller, overturning a $1.25 million jury verdict. The decision impacts thousands of state court lawsuits claiming that Roundup causes cancer, citing alignment with U.S. pesticide law and EPA findings.

The U.S. Supreme Court has delivered a significant legal victory to Bayer by curtailing thousands of state court lawsuits alleging that its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer. In a 7-2 decision, the justices overturned a Missouri jury's verdict that had awarded $1.25 million to John Durnell, who claimed his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosis was due to years of exposure to glyphosate, Roundup's active ingredient.

The ruling aligns with Bayer's argument that lawsuits should be precluded under the U.S. pesticide law that prevents state-law failure-to-warn claims from proceeding. Bayer acquired Roundup through its $63 billion purchase of Monsanto and has faced over 100,000 related lawsuits. The company emphasized the EPA's determination that glyphosate does not cause cancer and approval of its labeling without warnings.

Bayer highlighted that labels cannot be changed without agency consent, further asserting the EPA's approval negates claims of misbranding. Facing significant financial liability, Bayer proposed a $7.25 billion settlement to resolve many lawsuits while leaving out some pending and appeal cases. This case centers on the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, which prohibits unauthorized labeling.