What the Supreme Court’s Decision Means for the Future of Roundup Lawsuits
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The ongoing Roundup cancer litigation took a major turn this week. On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that one of the central claims of these cases is overruled by a federal statute.
The 7-2 decision could dramatically reshape the litigation, which centers on claims that the popular weed killer is tied to the development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Supreme Court Verdict Central to Bayer’s Roundup Strategy
This week’s verdict was the culmination of a years-long push by agricultural giant Bayer to limit Roundup lawsuits.
The company has long touted a positive Supreme Court ruling as a key factor for resolving the litigation, which involves tens of thousands of active cases.
Roundup lawsuits typically include failure-to-warn claims, arguing that Roundup’s manufacturer should have warned customers of a potential cancer risk.
Bayer argues that these claims are federally preempted because the Environmental Protection Agency approved Roundup’s label without a cancer warning.
The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) says that states cannot impose different or additional labeling requirements from what is required at the federal level.
The Supreme Court endorsed that argument, potentially giving Bayer the upper hand in other lawsuits. The company said in a statement that the ruling “should help significantly contain litigation by preempting conflicting state-law- based warning claims.”
But it will take time for the full impact of the ruling to become clear. Failure-to-warn claims are not the only arguments that have been used in Roundup lawsuits. Some lawsuits focus on negligence or design defects.
For the time being, law firms are also still accepting and filing new lawsuits from people who may have been impacted by this issue.
Bayer Pushes for Completion of $7.25 Billion Roundup Settlement
A Supreme Court ruling in their favor was not the only strategy Bayer is pursuing to move on from the litigation.
Earlier this year, the company also offered a $7.25 billion settlement to cover both current and future Roundup claims. In the wake of the court’s decision, Bayer is still moving forward with that settlement.
But the deal has faced significant pushback and criticism, with some law firms concerned that it doesn’t provide enough compensation for people impacted by non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Under the terms of the deal, some people who qualify could walk away with as little as $6,000.
A battle over whether the settlement’s fate will be decided in state or federal court is currently underway.