The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with Bayer, the maker of the Roundup weedkiller, in a decision that is expected to block thousands of lawsuits alleging the product failed to warn consumers about its potential to cause cancer. The ruling means the company cannot be sued in state courts because federal regulations have determined a cancer link to be unlikely.
The case involved Missouri resident John Durnell, who developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after more than two decades of using Roundup. A jury had previously awarded Durnell $1.25 million, agreeing with his claim that the company failed to warn him of possible cancer dangers. This verdict was one of thousands of similar cases, some of which resulted in multibillion-dollar damage awards against Bayer, which acquired Roundup when it bought its original manufacturer, Monsanto, in 2018.
There remains a significant debate regarding the link between cancer and glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup. In 2015, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic.” However, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has determined that the chemical is not likely to cause cancer in humans when used as directed. The EPA approved a label for Roundup that does not include a cancer warning, and Bayer has argued that it must adhere to these federal standards rather than state laws under which plaintiffs have filed suit.
Bayer disputes the cancer claims, but the company has previously set aside $16 billion to settle such cases. Earlier this year, Bayer proposed a $7.25 billion class-action settlement to resolve many of the remaining claims. A federal judge recently ruled that this proposed settlement will be considered in a Missouri state court, where a large number of the lawsuits have been filed.
Globally, approximately 200,000 Roundup-related claims have been made against Bayer, with the majority coming from home users. The company has ceased using glyphosate in Roundup products sold in the U.S. for residential lawn and garden markets. Bayer has indicated that it might be forced to consider withdrawing glyphosate from U.S. agricultural markets if litigation continues, a move that agricultural industry groups warn could significantly impact the food supply.