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Bayer AG, a German chemical company that is defending itself against thousands of US lawsuits over its weedkiller Roundup, has suffered a defeat from the nation’s apex court.
Bayer is fighting allegations that it failed to provide sufficient warnings on the herbicide’s purported cancer dangers. In addition, Bayer argued that the company should be immune from liability because government regulators had authorized the product. However, the Supreme Court rejected the company’s appeal, leaving it open to potentially billion-dollar legal claims.
The judges decided not to take the case, leaving in effect a decision upholding a $25 million verdict to a California man who used Roundup and claimed that using the glyphosate-based herbicide on his land caused his cancer.
The court’s ruling, Bayer AG stated on Tuesday, “undermined the ability of companies to depend on official acts performed by expert regulatory agencies,” and it was “respectfully” disagreed with.
Bayer is facing legal action regarding the potential carcinogenic dangers of glyphosate, the herbicide on which Roundup and numerous other weedkillers are based.
Glyphosate is still permitted in the US and other countries, including Europe, despite the World Health Organization’s 2015 finding that it was “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
A federal appeals court said last week that the US Environmental Protection Agency had not fully considered the risks that glyphosate poses to individuals and the environment, which might necessitate further study by regulators.
The pesticide is harmless, according to Bayer, which purchased the Roundup brand as part of its $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto in 2018.
Bayer argued in its court appeal that it shouldn’t face punishment for promoting a product “where the product does not cause cancer” due to “near-universal scientific and regulatory consensus.” It was mentioned that the Environmental Protection Agency had even told manufacturers not to include cancer warnings on their labels in 2019 since doing so would be deceptive.
Bayer AG has lost three Roundup cases in court, including the one that prompted the Supreme Court appeal, and has won four others.
An estimated $11 billion settlement to settle tens of thousands of complaints was announced in 2020. In a March update to investors, Bayer stated that out of a total of around 138,000 cases, about 107,000 had been settled. As a result, it has saved a total of $15 billion for prospective dividends.
For herbicides targeted at the US home market, Bayer has stated that it intends to substitute additional active components for glyphosate.
On breaking the news, Bayer AG shares dropped by about 3%.
