Bayer AG (OTC:BAYRY) on Tuesday proposed a $7.25 billion settlement to resolve thousands of U.S. lawsuits claiming that its weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. The product was originally made by Monsanto, which Bayer acquired in 2018 for more than $60 billion.
“Litigation uncertainty has plagued the company for years, and this settlement gives the company a road to closure,” said Bayer CEO Bill Anderson. If approved by the court, the settlement would reduce potential exposure stemming from a future Supreme Court ruling, offering greater certainty to both Bayer and the patients pursuing damages.
Monsanto will fund the settlement through capped annual payments over up to 21 years, totaling as much as $7.25 billion, and has separately agreed to settle additional Roundup (glyphosate) cases under confidential terms.
The proposed settlement was filed in Missouri’s St. Louis Circuit Court, where Bayer’s North American crop science division is based, and many of the lawsuits were initiated.
The lawsuits claimed that the company did not adequately warn users about the potential non-Hodgkin lymphoma risks associated with Roundup’s key ingredient, glyphosate.
This settlement proposal comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to hear arguments on Bayer’s assertion that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of Roundup without a cancer warning should nullify state court claims. The proposed settlement will not impact this case.
Trump Administration Backs Bayer on Roundup Cases
This proposed settlement follows other legal wins for Monsanto. In May 2024, Bayer’s Monsanto unit secured a significant victory when a Washington state appeals court overturned a $185 million verdict against the company over chemical contamination at a Seattle-area school. The original lawsuit, brought by three teachers who claimed they suffered brain damage from exposure to now-banned chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dates back to 2021 when Monsanto spinoff Pharmacia was found liable.
In December, Bayer secured backing from the Trump administration to curb U.S. lawsuits over its Roundup weedkiller, as U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer urged the Supreme Court to limit state-law claims, arguing they are preempted by federal pesticide regulations. CEO Anderson welcomed the move, calling it a key step toward regulatory clarity for farmers and warning that misapplication of federal law could threaten access to agricultural innovation and broader U.S. investment.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Image via Shutterstock
Recent Comments