Monsanto Roundup Lawsuit

January 4, 2025: Monsanto appealed a $175 million jury verdict in favor of plaintiff Ernest Caranci. The company challenged several aspects of the 2023 trial, including jury instructions and evidentiary rulings, and cited the Third Circuit's Schaffner decision regarding preemption of failure-to-warn claims.

December 3, 2024: Only 18 cases were added to the Monsanto Roundup MDL last month, bringing the case total to 4,373. 

November 1, 2024: There are still thousands of Roundup cases in the MDL. As of today, 4,355 federal cases are pending. 

October 11, 2024: A Philadelphia jury has ordered Bayer to pay $78 million to a Pennsylvania resident who developed cancer after using the company's controversial Roundup herbicide. The verdict, including $3 million in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitive damages, interrupts Bayer's recent courtroom wins in Philadelphia. While the agrochemical company had previously prevailed in 14 of 20 Roundup trials, this latest decision adds to a series of substantial verdicts against the company, including a $1.56 billion judgment from November 2023 (later reduced to $611 million) and a $2.25 billion verdict from January 2024 (subsequently reduced to $400 million). 

October 1, 2024: The total number of cases in the federal Roundup MDL is now 4,349. However, most new Roundup lawsuits are filed in state courts, not the MDL.

September 28, 2024: The Third Circuit Court of Appeals refused to change its decision from last month that federal law overrides a Pennsylvania law requiring cancer warnings on chemicals. 

September 16, 2024: A new Roundup trial, Melissen v. Monsanto, is underway in Philadelphia. The trial is expected to take weeks. We will report on any news once the trial concludes. 

September 12, 2024: The Philadelphia jury in Young v. Monsanto found that Monsanto was not responsible for the plaintiff's cancer. Despite this setback, plaintiffs have won 3 out of 5 Roundup trials in Philadelphia with an average verdict of roughly $194 million.

September 4, 2024: A Missouri appeals court agreed with a lower court's decision in the case of Moore v. Monsanto, which went in the defense’s favor. 

August 23, 2024: Bayer scored a significant win in the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. In a ruling issued last week, the court found that federal pesticide labeling regulations preempt state law. This means that EPA-approved pesticide labels, which do not include a cancer warning for Roundup, override state requirements for labeling.

The ruling stems from a Pennsylvania case that alleged Monsanto/Bayer violated state law by failing to include a cancer warning on the Roundup label. But the 3rd Circuit ruled that federal law for pesticide regulations requires nationwide uniformity.

This decision conflicts with another Appeals Court decision from earlier this year, which found federal law did not preempt state law. Reuters reports that the conflict could lead to the Supreme Court weighing in. 

August 16, 2024: 4,311 Roundup lawsuit cases are still open in the MDL. 

In other Roundup news, the plaintiff in an Oregon case won a critical appeal last month and will get a new trial. The appellant court reversed a judgment that excluded one of the plaintiff’s experts, Dr. Charles Benbrook, from testifying at trial about EPA pesticide regulations. Specifically, Dr. Benbrook was expected to testify about how EPA and IARC reached differing conclusions about the carcinogenicity of glyphosate.

According to the appellant court order, “[w]e conclude that the trial court erred in excluding certain testimony of Dr. Benbrook and that that error was not harmless.”

July 22, 2024: Bayer is lobbying Congress to protect the company from Roundup cancer lawsuits. The new 2024 farm bill, approved by the House Agriculture Committee, contains wording that would shield Bayer from future litigation and limit states from adding pesticide warning labels. Some call this bill a "get out of jail free" card for Bayer, which has lost several court cases this year. According to a report from the Washington Post, Bayer provided input in drafting the proposed legislation. 

July 5, 2024: The plaintiff in a Roundup trial scheduled to begin next week in Philadelphia has voluntarily dismissed the case. The case was filed by a plaintiff whose father died of cancer allegedly caused by Roundup exposure. The trial judge dismissed all but one count alleged in the case, finding that the plaintiff had missed the statute of limitations. With only one viable count, the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the case but may appeal. 

June 5, 2024: A Pennsylvania judge reduced the jury verdict from a Roundup trial earlier this year to $400 million. In January, a jury found that Roundup weed killer caused plaintiff John McKivison’s non-Hodgkins lymphoma and awarded him $250 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages. However, Judge Susan Schulman reduced the compensatory damages to $50 million and punitive damages to $350 million. Bayer says it will continue to appeal the case. 

June 3, 2024: Only a handful of cases were added to the Roundup MDL since last month, bringing the total cases to 4,285.

April 8, 2024: The Missouri judge overseeing a Roundup case that culminated in a $1.56 billion jury verdict has reduced the verdict to $611 million. The reduced damages award is for three plaintiffs who alleged exposure to Roundup weed killer caused their cancer. 

In November of 2023, a jury in Cole County, Missouri, found Bayer's Monsanto unit liable for negligence and design defects, as well as failing to warn about Roundup's risks. The three plaintiffs, Valorie Gunther, Jimmy Draeger, and Daniel Anderson were awarded $61.1 million in compensatory damages and $1.5 billion in punitive damages, which were to be split equally among them. However, Judge Daniel Green decided to reduce the punitive damages to nine times the amount of compensatory damages ($549.9 million), resulting in a total verdict of $611 million.  

Bayer, which sought to toss the verdict, said it will appeal Judge Green’s ruling. 

April 2, 2024: Since the start of 2024, there have been over 100 cases added to the Roundup MDL, bringing the case total to 4,281. Bayer estimates that there remain roughly 54,000 pending Roundup cancer claims in various courts throughout the country. 

January 26, 2024: A jury in Philadelphia returned a $2.25 billion verdict today in favor of a Pennsylvania man who developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after using Roundup multiple times a year over several years. The verdict, which includes $2 billion in punitive damages and $250 million in compensatory damages, is the latest blow to Bayer, which has lost multiple jury trials over the last several months.

December 29, 2023: Last week, Bayer won at trial in a Roundup lawsuit brought by a California man who alleged he developed cancer after exposure to Roundup weed killer. The defense verdict ended a losing streak for Bayer (formerly Monsanto). Five previous Roundup trials had gone in favor of plaintiffs. 

December 6, 2023: Bayer will pay approximately $3.5 million to a Pennsylvania woman after a jury Philadelphia jury concluded Roundup weedkiller caused her cancer. The trial, which lasted roughly three weeks, culminated in a verdict that included $462,500 in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages. This is the fifth consecutive court loss for Bayer.

November 20, 2023: A Missouri jury delivered a verdict worth $1.5 billion in favor of the plaintiffs in a Roundup trial. This is the second-largest jury verdict in the Roundup litigation (our firm earned a $2.055 billion verdict in 2019). Plaintiffs Dan Anderson, James Draeger, and Valorie Gunther will receive a total of $61.1 million in damages and $500 million each in punitive damages. The plaintiffs allegedly developed NHL after using Roundup. 

October 31, 2023: Another significant Roundup verdict. The jury in the case of Dennis v. Monsanto Co.returned a verdict worth over $330 million, including punitive damages. The trial took place in San Diego, California.

October 27, 2023: The jury in the case of Caranci v. Monsanto Co. delivered a $175 million verdict in favor of the plaintiff, which includes punitive damages. The case, filed on behalf of an 82-year-old man who alleged Roundup caused his NHL, was tried in Philadelphia. 

October 20, 2023: A St. Louis jury returned a verdict in favor of a 67-year-old plaintiff. The jury found that Monsanto/Bayer failed to sufficiently warn about the potential risks associated with Roundup which the plaintiff alleged caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

June 15, 2023:  New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that Monsanto/Bayer will pay a settlementworth nearly $7 million to the state to resolve allegations concerning misleading advertising about the safety of glyphosate weed killers like Roundup. 

May 24, 2023: The case of Gordon v. Monsanto Co. culminated in a jury verdict for Bayer/Monsanto. This is the seventh straight win for the defense. 

December 14, 2022: The case of Langford v. Monsanto Co. et al. (CGC-21-592238), ended in a confidential settlement before trial. Another case that was supposed to proceed to trial in Hawaii (Pied v. MonsantoCo.) has also been settled. 

November 14, 2022: Bayer/Monsanto won another trial, the sixth win in a row. This case, Moore v. Monsanto Co., was tried in St. Louis County Circuit Court. 

More trials are upcoming in the next few months. 

September 2, 2022: A jury in St. Louis returned a verdict in Bayer’s favor in another Roundup trial. This is the fifth consecutive victory for Monsanto/Bayer. 

July 4, 2022: The Ninth Circuit panel unanimously told the EPA to reconsider its conclusion that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup weedkiller, is not an “unreasonable risk to man or the environment.” The court agreed with environmental and food safety advocates that the agency did not fully consider whether Roundup causes cancer. Per the decision, “most studies EPA examined indicated that human exposure to glyphosate is associated with an at least somewhat increased risk of developing NHL,” which contradicts EPA’s conclusion that glyphosate is “not likely to cause cancer.”

June 27, 2022: The Supreme Court denied Bayer’s petition for a writ of certiorari in Pilliod et al. v. Monsanto Co. The Pilliods will retain the $87 million reduced verdict. 

June 21, 2022: The Supreme Court denied Bayer’s petition for a writ of certiorari in the case of Hardeman v. Monsanto Co., allowing the final judgment of $25.2 million to remain intact.

June 11, 2022: The jury in Shelton v. Monsanto Co. returned a verdict for the defense. 

June 2, 2022: Former Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant gave testimony during the trial of Shelton v. Monsanto Co. Grant said Monsanto did not conduct their own tests to evaluate whether there was a connection between Roundup and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

December 13, 2021: Bayer won another Roundup trial. The case of Stephens v. Monsanto Co., which was conducted over Zoom, culminated in a jury verdict for the defense. Per the verdict, the plaintiff’s use of Roundup was not the cause of her cancer.

November 18, 2021: Bayer won its first trial in California regarding Roundup. The case alleged a child's rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was caused by his mother's use of the herbicide in her garden. The jury determined that the child's exposure to Roundup was not a significant factor in his cancer. (2023 Update: Bayer reached a confidential Roundup settlement with the plaintiff in this case).

May 14, 2021: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco denied Bayer’s appeal in Hardeman v. Monsanto Co.

Roundup cancer lawsuits have been filed for plaintiffs who developed: 

• B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma
• T cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma 
• Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL)
• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
• Small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL)
• Follicular lymphoma
• Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL)
• Hairy cell leukemia (HCL)
• Burkitt lymphoma
• Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (mycosis fungoides and Sezary syndrome)