St. Louis Jury Rejects Roundup Cancer Claims Against Bayer

A St. Louis jury unanimously ruled in favor of Bayer this week, rejecting cancer claims brought by three women who used the company's Roundup weedkiller. The decision stands as the first major legal test following a June Supreme Court ruling that limited the types of claims plaintiffs can assert in these cases.

The trial involved Theresa Aretino, Cynthia Fernandez, and Betty Larkin, who filed suit in 2020 against Monsanto, the unit Bayer acquired in 2018. The women alleged that regular use of Roundup caused them to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Their legal team argued that the product was defectively designed and unreasonably dangerous, and that Bayer was negligent in its sale. The jury found otherwise, returning a verdict for the defense.

Bill Dodero, Bayer's US general counsel, stated that the outcome demonstrates the difficulty plaintiffs now face in the courtroom. He noted that the verdict sends a strong signal that claimants relying on the Supreme Court's Durnell ruling will struggle to prove viable claims and present necessary evidence.

This trial occurred while Bayer navigates a separate, larger legal effort. A Missouri state court judge in St. Louis is currently reviewing a proposed $7.25 billion settlement designed to resolve tens of thousands of other Roundup cases. The three women in this trial are not part of that settlement group. Fernandez died before the trial began.

The Supreme Court ruling in June blocked many lawsuits that alleged Roundup's label failed to warn consumers of cancer risks. The court determined that federal law requires herbicide makers to use the exact label approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has concluded that the Roundup label does not require a cancer warning.

Bayer argues that the Supreme Court decision also forecloses design-defect and negligence claims. Plaintiffs' attorneys maintain that those specific legal theories remain unaffected. The company currently faces approximately 65,000 claims in US state and federal courts from individuals who say they developed cancer after using the product at home or on the job.

Bayer has denied the allegations, citing decades of studies indicating that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is safe. The EPA is currently conducting a new review of the chemical's safety. While the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as probably carcinogenic in 2015, Bayer describes that finding as an outlier based on flawed methodology.