Monsanto Co. challenged a reward of $86.2 million in damages to a couple who developed cancer after three decades of using Roundup weed killer. Last week, California’s highest court rejected this objection. It upheld the original ruling of the Roundup case in favor of Alva and Alberta Pilliod.

Responses to Recent Roundup Case Ruling

In August, the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco declared in a 2-1 ruling that Monsanto was to blame for knowingly marketing and selling a product with a potentially dangerous active ingredient.

Parent company Bayer disagreed with this decision. In a statement, the company said, “We continue to stand strongly behind the safety of Roundup, a position supported by assessments of expert regulators worldwide as well as the overwhelming weight of four decades of extensive science.”

Brent Wisner, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, shared with the San Francisco Chronicle that the ruling “was based on solid science and unanimous law.” He encouraged the company to stop with its “frivolous appeals.”

The Future of Roundup Settlements

Over the summer, Bayer revealed that it would stop selling the current version of Roundup for home and garden use in U.S. stores in 2023. The company plans to replace the main ingredient, glyphosate, with a new ingredient. This ingredient change is still subject to federal and state approval. They will continue to sell Roundup with glyphosate for farm use. 

Thus far, Bayer has agreed to pay $10 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits at both the state and federal level. They have also tried to resolve future lawsuits with a settlement of up to $2 billion. So far, these efforts have been unsuccessful. 

For more information about the lawsuits related to Roundup, contact us today.

Additional Reading:

Bayer Roundup Trial Goes Virtual Due to COVID-19 Concerns

Bayer Loses Third Consecutive Appeal of Roundup Cancer Verdict