This is yet another setback for Bayer, which faces thousands of lawsuits in the United States. The German giant has lost a lawsuit against a ruling that its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer.
A San Francisco appeals court on Monday, August 9, upheld a 2019 judgment in favor of a couple claiming to have fallen ill after using Roundup weedkiller for years. The court also upheld a judge’s decision to drastically reduce the amount of compensation awarded by the jury to Alva and Alberta Pilliod from $ 2 billion to $ 86.7 million.
Since the takeover, in 2018, of the American agrochemical company Monsanto, producer of Roundup, Bayer has faced a series of proceedings in the United States.
“Monsanto knew”
Tuesday he said to himself “Respectfully disagrees with the court’s decision” of San Francisco, which, according to him, is not supported by any tangible evidence. “We continue to be a strong advocate for the safety of Roundup, a position supported by four decades of in-depth scientific data and assessments from major health regulatory bodies around the world that support its safe use.”, said a spokesperson for the group. Bayer clarified that “Monsanto will study[it] his legal options in this case ”.
Glyphosate, the main component of Roundup, is nevertheless classified as “Probable carcinogen” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization (WHO). In his judgment, the judge said Monsanto had shown a “Uncompromising refusal to inform the public” on the dangers of a product she made widely available in American hardware stores.
“Monsanto knew the studies supporting the safety of Roundup were invalid when the Pilliods started spraying Roundup in their backyard, without gloves or protective gear, prompted by TV commercials.”, says the judgment.
125,000 complaints
Overwhelmed by these procedures, Bayer suffered a net loss of 2.3 billion euros in the second quarter. The group has indeed spent additional provisions of 4.5 billion dollars (3.8 billion euros) to face the lawsuits.
He signed in June 2020 a broad agreement of more than 10 billion dollars to put an end to some 125,000 complaints. But a U.S. judge in May rejected part of that plan, which would have limited the cost of future class action claims.
According to the judge, the deal does not sufficiently protect the interests of people who used Roundup before February 2021 and have not yet been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.
In May, a San Francisco court also upheld a conviction against Bayer to pay $ 25 million in damages to California retiree Edwin Hardeman, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2015. On Tuesday, Bayer said know that Monsanto planned to “File an application with the Supreme Court of the United States this month” in that case.