California Court Rules Against Bayer in Roundup Weedkiller Appeal -- Update
August 10 2021 - 7:25AM
Dow Jones News
By Matt Grossman
Bayer AG has lost an appeal of a California jury verdict that
tied the use of its Roundup weedkiller to cancer, a setback for the
German chemicals company as it plans to bring its defense of the
product to the U.S. Supreme Court.
On Monday, an appeals court in California upheld the jury's
verdict in a case brought by a husband and wife who both developed
non-Hodgkin lymphoma after years of using Roundup on their
property. The couple, Alberta and Alva Pilliod, had been awarded
about $86 million in damages.
The case is one of a handful in which state-court juries have
found that Roundup contributed to a user's cancer diagnosis. Bayer
inherited the Roundup weedkiller brand as part of its 2018
acquisition of Monsanto. The company says the compound at issue in
the Roundup litigation, glyphosate, is safe, and it continues to
sell weedkiller that includes the chemical.
"We respectfully disagree with the court's ruling as the verdict
is not supported by the evidence at trial or the law," a
spokeswoman for Bayer said of the appeals court's decision.
Last month, Bayer said it is setting aside an additional $4.5
billion to cover expenses arising from Roundup litigation. Those
funds add to the $11.6 billion Bayer had previously said it could
pay.
Bayer has also said it will appeal a case similar to the
Pilliods' to the U.S. Supreme Court this month.
In part, Bayer has argued in the cases that state-court jury
verdicts should be pre-empted by federal law, because the federal
Environmental Protection Agency has said glyphosate doesn't pose a
health risk.
Write to Matt Grossman at matt.grossman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 10, 2021 07:22 ET (11:22 GMT)
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