Full Breakdown
Bayer Wins St. Louis Roundup Trial, Strengthening Settlement Push
By Drooid · · How we work
In this breakdown
01
Trial Outcome
A Missouri jury unanimously rejected the claims of three St. Louis women—Theresa Aretino, Cynthia Fernandez and Betty Larkin—that Bayer AG’s Roundup weedkiller caused their non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The verdict, the first since the U.S. Supreme Court’s June decision limiting lawsuits based on alleged label warnings, marks a legal win for Bayer and its subsidiary Monsanto.
02
Legal Background
The Supreme Court ruling held that plaintiffs cannot argue that the Roundup label failed to warn of cancer risk because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had determined that a warning was not required. Plaintiffs in the St. Louis case therefore pursued a different theory, alleging that Roundup was defectively designed and unreasonably dangerous. Bayer countered that the product’s safety had been affirmed by EPA assessments.
03
Litigation Landscape
Approximately 65,000 Roundup lawsuits remain pending in the United States. Bayer has offered a $7.25 billion (€6.5 billion) settlement to resolve current and future claims, a proposal now awaiting final approval by a Missouri state court. The company has already incurred more than $11 billion in legal costs and reports having secured favorable outcomes in 17 of its last 25 Roundup trials.
04
Company Position
Bill Dodero, Bayer’s U.S. general counsel and global head of litigation, said the verdict validates the company’s view that there is no evidence of design defect, fraud or negligence in the Roundup litigation. He added that the decision sends a strong signal that plaintiffs will face significant challenges in proving viable claims under the Supreme Court’s precedent.
05
Implications for Public Health and Future Litigation
The EPA has previously concluded that glyphosate is probably not carcinogenic, though it is conducting a new safety review. In contrast, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic” to humans in 2015, a finding Bayer has called an outlier. The trial’s outcome may influence how future lawsuits are framed and could affect regulatory scrutiny of glyphosate’s health impacts.