Monsanto and lawyers for class-action plaintiffs have proposed a nationwide settlement to resolve claims the popular weedkiller Roundup causes cancer.
A Circuit Court judge in St. Louis must approve the $7.25 billion settlement, which would cover tens of thousands of plaintiffs, before payouts can begin.
"For the folks who've been injured here and who suffered, this has given them a pathway to compensation that never before has really been a realistic opportunity," said Eric Holland of the St. Louis-based Holland Law Firm, who represents a group of plaintiffs. "That's huge for us."
Monsanto representatives have long disputed claims that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is linked to cancer. Court documents indicate more than 125,000 plaintiffs have filed suit against the company, arguing the ingredient caused them or their loved ones to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic and immune systems.
The German biotechnology giant Bayer – which bought Creve Coeur-based Monsanto in 2018 – no longer uses glyphosate in Roundup products intended for residential use.
Bayer continues to deny liability. Chairman and CEO Bill Anderson said during an investor call Tuesday that the settlement would stem costly Roundup-related litigation and allow the company to focus on its "true mission" of "health for all, hunger for none."
"This is a choice for speed and containment over a protracted legal battle," he said. "Litigation uncertainty has plagued the company for years, and this settlement gives the company a road to closure. The proposed settlement comes at a price, but we have a plan to finance it, and it's distributed over many years."
Attorneys hammered out the details of the agreement for more than 18 months with the help of a mediator, according to court documents. The proposed settlement would cover those who have or may develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the future. It would award money over about 20 years to plaintiffs based on their type of exposure, age of diagnosis and the kind of lymphoma they developed.
Holland said he anticipates the settlement, if approved, would apply to most plaintiffs with lawsuits outstanding against the company.
Supreme Court appeal looms
The agreement comes as the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take on Monsanto's appeal challenging the legal basis for many Roundup-related claims.
Monsanto has argued that federal law preempts state laws that require warning labels on products. The federal government has approved labels without the warnings, which means Monsanto is not bound by "failure-to-warn" laws, the company's attorneys argue.
Holland said it was important to get the settlement nailed down before a potential Supreme Court decision undermines the lawsuits.
"The failure-to-warn claim is at the very crux," of the suits, he said. "What they're saying – what every plaintiff says – is 'You didn't warn me about this danger, and if you would have warned me, I wouldn't have used the product and I wouldn't have gotten cancer.'"
Anderson told investors that the settlement and the Supreme Court case are part of a multilayered approach to quash legal battles.
"Today's agreement addresses the bulk of eligible current and future cases," he said. "Beyond that, the stakes of the Supreme Court's decision are large. A decision in our favor would address cases not covered by the settlement."
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