Monsanto Roundup Lawsuit

Wisner Baum and Co-Counsel Defeat Monsanto in First Three Roundup Trials

We and The Miller Firm are the only attorneys in America to successfully defeat Monsanto in multiple trials. Our firm served on the trial teams in Johnson v. Monsanto Co., Hardeman v. Monsanto Co., and Pilliod v. Monsanto Co., which resulted in over $2.4 billion in combined jury verdicts.

Pilliod v. Monsanto Co.

After years of spraying Roundup weed killer, Alva and Alberta Pilliod both developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The California couple filed a Roundup lawsuit alleging design defect and failure to warn against Monsanto. The Miller Firm asked us to partner with them in conducting the trial for the Pilliods. Roundup lawyer R. Brent Wisner served as co-lead trial counsel, with Michael L. Baum and Pedram Esfandiary also serving on the trial team, among others.

On May 13, 2019, the jury awarded Alberta over $37 million in compensatory damages and awarded Alva over $18 million in compensatory damages. The jury also awarded the couple $2 billion in punitive damages. The jury trial was completed over roughly six weeks.

The trial court conditionally denied Monsanto’s motion for a new trial, contingent on the Pilliods accepting reduced compensatory and punitive damages worth $87 million in total. The Pilliods accepted the reduced damages.      

Monsanto appealed the decision, but the Court of Appeals upheld the reduced verdict in 2021. The California Supreme Court later denied Monsanto’s request for further review of the Court of Appeals’ decision.

In 2022, Monsanto asked the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to review the verdict. On June 27, 2022, SCOTUS denied the petition for a writ of certiorari.

“After years of racking up loss after loss in this case, Monsanto can no longer avoid responsibility for the unspeakable harm they have caused Alva and Alberta Pilliod,” said Roundup lawyer R. Brent Wisner. “The high court’s decision is further proof that Monsanto’s only path in this litigation is through the trial courts, which is the way it should be. I am personally looking forward to trying a case against Monsanto this fall in California, my first since the Pilliod trial. Despite Monsanto’s recent victories, I am confident that our team can repeat the success we enjoyed in the first three Roundup trials.”

Hardeman v. Monsanto Co.

Edwin Hardeman filed a Roundup lawsuit alleging the weed killer caused his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma through his attorneys Jennifer Moore and Aimee Wagstaff. His lawsuit against Monsanto was the first federal Roundup cancer lawsuit to proceed to trial before U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria. Attorneys Moore and Wagstaff asked our firm to help them conduct the trial for Mr. Hardeman. Roundup attorneys R. Brent Wisner, Michael L. Baum, and Pedram Esfandiary served on the trial team.

On March 27, 2019, a jury awarded Edwin Hardeman $5,267,634.10 in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitive damages. The district court later reduced the jury's punitive damages award to $20 million.

On May 14, 2021, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's judgment in favor of Mr. Hardeman. Months later, Monsanto submitted a petition for a writ of certiorari with SCOTUS. Several amicus briefs were subsequently filed, including one from the Justice Department saying Monsanto’s writ of certiorari should be denied.

On June 22, 2022, SCOTUS denied Monsanto’s petition for a writ of certiorari, allowing Mr. Hardeman’s final judgment of $25.2 million to remain intact.

“The decision is not surprising, but it is welcomed,” said Roundup lawyer R. Brent Wisner. “Monsanto will never get the ‘magic’ preemption bullet it hoped for. This litigation will continue to be fought in the trial courts, in front of juries, like it should be."

Johnson v. Monsanto Co.

Dewayne “Lee” Johnson, a school district grounds manager, was a heavy user of Roundup weed killer. Johnson filed a Roundup lawsuit against Monsanto after receiving a non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis. His case was the first Roundup lawsuit to go before a jury in 2018. The Miller Firm represented Mr. Johnson and asked us to help them conduct the trial. R. Brent Wisner served as co-lead trial counsel for Mr. Johnson. Michael L. Baum and Pedram Esfandiary were also on the trial team.

On August 10, 2018, the jury found that Monsanto failed to adequately warn of its products’ potential dangers and that its products had a design defect. Mr. Johnson was awarded roughly $39 million in compensatory damages and $250 million in punitive damages.

The court denied Monsanto’s motion for a new trial on the condition that Johnson accept a reduced award of punitive damages. Johnson accepted the reduced verdict of $78.5 million.

Monsanto filed an appeal on April 23, 2019. On July 20, 2020, the California Courts of Appeal First Appellate District ruled in favor of Mr. Johnson but reduced the jury’s future noneconomic compensatory damages award to $4 million, which results in a total reduced award of $10,253,209.32 in compensatory damages. The judgment is further modified to reduce the award of punitive damages to $10,253,209.32.

"This is another major victory for Lee and his family,” said Roundup lawyer R. Brent Wisner following the Court of Appeals win. “Nearly every argument by Monsanto was rejected, including Monsanto's vaunted preemption defense, and the verdict was upheld. The reduction in damages is a function of a deep flaw in California tort law, not the merits of the case. Basically, California law does not allow a plaintiff to recover for a shortened life expectancy. This effectively rewards a defendant for killing a plaintiff, as opposed to just injuring him. It is madness. That Lee will not live an entire life with his wife and children should be compensable. Hopefully, we can change this irrational law."

Monsanto did not take the case to the Supreme Court. Mr. Johnson received his compensation in late 2020.

Who Can File a Roundup Lawsuit Against Monsanto?

Wisner Baum represents people from all across the country who were exposed to Roundup (glyphosate) and later diagnosed with B cell or T cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, including many subtypes like 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, and cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (mycosis fungoides and Sezary syndrome).

Most of our clients are individuals who sprayed Roundup around their home or business. We also represent government workers, farmers, agricultural workers, gardeners, landscapers, and others.

Anyone diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after using Roundup for their occupation or on their property (i.e. home and garden use) should consider speaking with a Roundup cancer attorney about filing a claim. Thousands of individuals from all walks of life and from all across America have filed Roundup cancer lawsuits against Monsanto, with more and more people joining the litigation each day.

Watch Attorney Brent Wisner Deliver the Closing Arguments in the First Roundup Cancer Trial, Johnson v. Monsanto

Wisner Baum has not been involved in the Roundup litigation since the $10.9 billion settlement reached in 2020.   

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 settlement worth 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. Monsanto Co.) 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.