US appeals court finds Bayer not shielded from Roundup lawsuit By Reuters

By Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) -A U.S. appeals court on Monday refused to dismiss a Georgia doctor’s lawsuit claiming that Bayer AG (ETR:)’s Roundup weedkiller caused cancer, the latest setback in the German company’s efforts to fend off thousands of similar cases carrying potentially billions of dollars in liability.

A three-judge panel of the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Bayer (OTC:)’s argument that federal regulators’ approval of Roundup shielded the company from being sued under state law for failing to warn consumers of the product’s risks. Several other appeals courts had previously reached the same conclusion in similar lawsuits.

If the 11th Circuit had broken with those other courts, it would have made it more likely for the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the issue. Bayer has said that it hopes a favorable Supreme Court ruling could limit its liability from the Roundup-related litigation, but the court has so far rebuffed its appeals.

David Carson, the plaintiff, said in his lawsuit he was diagnosed with a type of cancer called malignant fibrous histiocytoma in 2016 after using Roundup for 30 years.

Roundup-related lawsuits have dogged Bayer since it acquired the brand as part of its $63 billion purchase of Monsanto (NYSE:) in 2018. The company settled most Roundup claims that were pending against it in 2020 for up to $10.9 billion, but still faces more than 50,000 claims over the product.

Most plaintiffs allege that Roundup caused a type of cancer called non-Hodgkins lymphoma, though some say it caused other cancers. Bayer maintains that Roundup is safe and does not cause cancer.

“We’re gratified the court rejected Monsanto’s defense and upheld the validity of Dr. Carson’s claims,” David Frederick, Carson’s attorney, said in an email. “The harm Monsanto caused with Roundup is immeasurable.”

Bayer has won 10 of the last 16 trials over Roundup. But it has been hit in the cases it lost with more than $4 billion in jury verdicts since last October. Some of those awards are likely to be reduced on appeal because they exceed U.S. Supreme Court guidance.