Philadelphia Roundup Lawsuit Ends in Defense Verdict for Monsanto

A jury in Pennsylvania returned a defense verdict this week in a Roundup lawsuit, which involved claims that the controversial weed killer caused a man to develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, handing the manufacturers a rare win, as they attempt to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the litigation, which consists of tens of thousands of similar claims.

Over the past decade, Bayer and its Monsanto subsidiary have faced more than 120,000 Roundup lawsuits involving allegations that they failed to disclose the side effects of Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate, and the companies have been hit with billions in jury awards in various different venues in recent years.

Each of the claims raise similar allegations, indicating that the manufacturers knew about the potential cancer risks linked to the popular weed killer, but failed to provide adequate warnings to farmers, landscapers and homeowners who were exposed to the herbicide on a regular basis.

Although Bayer and Monsanto have paid more than $10 billion in Roundup settlements, the manufacturers continue to face thousands of active lawsuits in the U.S. court system, and new claims continue to be filed as former users of the weed killer develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and other forms of cancer.

The latest claim to go to trial involves a Philadelphia Roundup lawsuit filed by Ryan Young, who indicated exposure to the weedkiller led to his development of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. However, on Wednesday a jury in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas ruled that Bayer and Monsanto were not liable for Young’s cancer.

It is the fifth Roundup lawsuit to be tried in Pennsylvania state court, but only the second victory by Bayer in that venue, where a number of other juries have returned massive damage awards after considering similar evidence about the link between Roundup and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

In December 2023, a Philadelphia Roundup lawsuit ended in a $3.4 million verdict, including millions in punitive damages awarded after the jury found that Monsanto needlessly endangered consumers. Only one month later, another Philadelphia jury awarded $2.2 billion in damages in a lawsuit filed by a landscaper diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which was later reduced to $400 million by the state court judge presiding over the trial.

Although Bayer and Monsanto have prevailed in some cases, after convincing the jury that their weedkiller did not cause specific plaintiffs’ cancer diagnoses, the company has failed to establish that it can consistently defend the safety of the herbicide at trial, and is currently exploring other ways to avoid individual cases going before juries in the coming years.

Bayer Seeking U.S. Supreme Court Review of Roundup Lawsuits

The companies have repeatedly presented arguments in a number of different courts claiming that federal laws prohibited them from adding cancer warning labels to Roundup products, indicating that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must approve warning labels for U.S. pesticide products under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

When the agency approved the Roundup warnings, it did not require the company to provide information about the risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma or other cancers, so Bayer and Monsanto have held that state court failure to warn lawsuits should be pre-empted.  However, early in the litigation, a number of judges rejected this argument.

The prospects for appealing the Roundup lawsuits to the U.S. Supreme Court changed In August 2024, when the U.S. District Court for the Third Circuit agreed Roundup cases were preempted by federal law, conflicting with earlier decisions returned by other courts.

To resolve the now contradictory rulings, the companies have indicated they intend to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in. However, it is unclear whether the highest appeals court in the country will agree to even consider the issue.

In the meantime, to limit liability from Roundup lawsuit failure to warn claims, Bayer and Monsanto have announced they are removing glyphosate from its Roundup consumer products, while keeping the active ingredient as a part of its formulation for large agricultural users. Despite the move, it is still expected that Bayer will continue to face a steady stream of trials for years to come, unless it is able to successfully convince the Supreme Court to take up the case and rule in its favor.