Another billion-dollar blow to Bayer, but company closer to blocking future lawsuits

Georgia governor weighing bill that would make it harder for people to sue pesticide companies

By Carey Gillam

A Georgia jury verdict ordering Bayer AG to pay over $2 billion to a man suffering from cancer he blamed on his use of Roundup weed killer comes as that state’s governor weighs whether to sign into law a measure that would effectively bar such cases from going to trial in the future.

The verdict rocked Bayer investors, driving down the German company’s shares more than 8%. The jury found that Bayer, which bought Roundup maker Monsanto in 2018, failed to properly warn users of years of scientific evidence that exposure to Roundup could cause cancer, awarding plaintiff John Barnes $2 billion in punitive damages and $65 million in compensatory damages.

Barnes developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) after using Roundup to spray weeds around his home in Dalton, Georgia, from 1999 to 2019, purchasing the herbicide from Home Depot stores. He was diagnosed with NHL in 2020 and has endured multiple rounds of treatment and one recurrence of the disease, though he currently is in remission, according to his lawyers. He is one of more than 100,000 people in the U.S. who have filed lawsuits alleging they developed cancer due to use of Monsanto’s weed killers.

Barnes, a father, grandfather, and former Marine, testified in the three-week trial that the disease and treatment have taken a lasting toll.

“With this cancer … there is no cure,” Barnes testified. He cried as he described persistent fear that his time with his family may be limited. “Every day is worry, not just for me but my family.”

Bayer is appealing, and said it is hopeful that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will soon sign new legislation recently passed by state lawmakers that would shield companies from lawsuits brought by people claiming they suffered health problems due to their use of pesticides.

The company says the pursuit of the legislative changes is necessary to protect its “important investments” and to ensure farmers don’t lose access to Roundup, and it hopes other states will “follow Georgia’s lead in supporting farmers.”

Similar pesticide immunity bills have been introduced in at least 10 other states, including Iowa, Missouri, and Oklahoma.

Syngenta, another pesticide company facing a wave of lawsuits, could also benefit from the laws moving their way through state legislatures. Syngenta has been sued by thousands of people claiming its paraquat herbicide causes Parkinson’s disease, but the company so far has avoided trials by settling cases and through procedural moves to delay trial dates. The latest delay was granted earlier this month, setting back a trial that had been scheduled to start in Washington state in May.

Source: The New Lede

To view source article, visit: https://www.thenewlede.org/2025/03/2-billion-roundup-jury-verdict-drives-down-bayer-shares-as-company-hopes-for-law-changes/

Organic & Non-GMO Insights April 2025