The US Supreme Court has sided with the maker of Roundup weedkiller in a ruling that is expected to block thousands of lawsuits alleging it failed to warn people that the product could cause cancer.
The decision marks a significant victory for the agrochemical giant Bayer, which acquired Roundup when it bought its original manufacturer Monsanto in 2018, following a “tidal wave” of litigation that included multibillion-dollar verdicts against the company.
The high court, in a 7-2 decision, determined that Bayer cannot be sued in state courts because federal regulations have previously found a cancer link unlikely.
The case before the court was filed by Missouri resident John Durnell, who developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after more than two decades of serving as a neighborhood association’s “spray guy,” using Roundup on parks in his historic St. Louis community. A jury had previously found that the company failed to adequately warn him about possible cancer dangers awarded him $1.25 million. This is one of thousands of similar cases, some resulting in multibillion-dollar damage awards.
The scientific community remains divided on the link between cancer and glyphosate, Roundup’s key ingredient. The World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified the chemical as “probably carcinogenic” in 2015, while the Environmental Protection Agency has determined that it’s not likely to cause cancer in humans when used as directed.
Bayer maintains that it is obliged to adhere to these federal standards, which approved a label without a cancer warning, rather than the state laws under which Mr Durnell and others have sued. However, his attorney Ashley Keller has suggested the ruling could still allow other suits alleging problems with the product’s design.
Despite disputing the cancer claims, Bayer disputes the cancer claims but previously set aside $16 billion to settle cases, and earlier this year proposed a $7.25 billion class-action settlement to resolve many of the remaining claims.
7.25bn class-action settlement to resolve many remaining claims. A federal judge recently ruled that the proposed settlement will be heard in a Missouri state court, where many lawsuits originated. The company has also successfully persuaded three states to pass laws shielding it from liability in failure-to-warn lawsuits.
Approximately 200,000 Roundup-related claims have been made against Bayer, predominantly from home users. The company has ceased using glyphosate in Roundup products sold in the US residential lawn and garden market. Bayer has indicated it might consider pulling glyphosate from US agricultural markets if lawsuits persist, a move agricultural industry groups warn could have a devastating effect on the food supply.
This ruling, while a win for the Trump administration, presents a political quandary. Allies in Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement advocate for reining in pesticide use, adding to their frustration with an executive order aimed at boosting glyphosate’s production. Mr Kennedy himself has repeatedly stated that glyphosate causes cancer, even while acknowledging the executive order’s necessity for food supply and national security reasons.
