Supreme Court shields Bayer from thousands of Roundup cancer suits
Why it matters: The ruling could wipe out many failure-to-warn claims tied to glyphosate, though design-defect cases may still proceed.
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Bayer cannot be sued in state court for failing to warn that Roundup may cause cancer, a decision expected to block thousands of lawsuits over the weedkiller. The case centered on Missouri resident John Durnell, who won a $1.25 million jury verdict after developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma following years of Roundup use in St. Louis parks. The justices found federal pesticide rules preempt those state-law warning claims because the Environmental Protection Agency approved Roundup labels without a cancer warning and has said glyphosate is not likely to cause cancer when used as directed. Bayer, which bought Monsanto in 2018, has faced about 200,000 claims and set aside billions to resolve the litigation.