Story perspectives

Supreme Court Reviews Roundup Suit Block, $7.25 B Settlement Proposed

4/28/2026

Summary

Story summary

The Supreme Court heard a split-court debate on whether the Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act blocks state cancer lawsuits against Bayer’s Roundup.
Bayer appealed the Missouri jury’s $1.25 million verdict for John Durnell, who says the herbicide caused his lymphoma, with the U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration filing a brief supporting Bayer.
Bayer has proposed a $7.25 billion settlement to resolve thousands of lawsuits, with a decision expected by end of June.

History

Historical Context

The 1993 Supreme Court decision in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals replaced the Frye “general acceptance” test with a flexible reliability gatekeeping standard under Rule 702. That shift prompted a 2002 RAND study showing expert exclusions rose sharply, doubling summary-judgment motions, and has since guided EPA pesticide-suit dismissals and the current Supreme Court review of Bayer’s Roundup liability under FIFRA.

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Story summary

The Supreme Court heard a split-court debate on whether the Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act blocks state cancer lawsuits against Bayer’s Roundup.
Bayer appealed the Missouri jury’s $1.25 million verdict for John Durnell, who says the herbicide caused his lymphoma, with the U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration filing a brief supporting Bayer.
Bayer has proposed a $7.25 billion settlement to resolve thousands of lawsuits, with a decision expected by end of June.

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