Bayer wins final case in Pennsylvania’s Roundup weedkiller case

2024-03-09 09:16:23

Bayer wins final case in Pennsylvania’s Roundup weedkiller case

AGDAILY Reporters*

Image : Jer123, Shutterstock

My note: The subject has completely disappeared from the French media… The legal adventures across the Atlantic – read: the defeats of Bayer/Monsanto – no longer serve to fuel anti-glyphosate lobbying. And Bayer/Monsanto doesn’t lose all the time… it’s annoying…

Bayer Ag secured legal victory in Philadelphia on Tuesday [5 mars 2024] regarding its weedkiller Roundup, while plaintiffs in California withdrew in another case.

Faced with numerous lawsuits alleging that Roundup causes cancer, Bayer maintains that its product is safe, despite these claims. The recent victories in Arkansas and Delaware add to the company’s other trial successes, with Bayer prevailing in three consecutive cases and in 13 of the last 19 trials.

The victory in Philadelphia marks an important milestone for Bayer, particularly following recent rulings on admissible evidence in the Roundup litigation. The company also announced the successful outcome of a lawsuit in Pennsylvania in which a retired postal worker claimed that Roundup caused his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Separately, according to Reuters, a California farmer and his wife voluntarily dropped their lawsuit that Roundup caused cancer, further strengthening Bayer’s position. Despite ongoing litigation, Bayer continues to strongly defend the safety of Roundup and its products.

“We continue to affirm the safety of Roundup and will confidently defend the safety of our products and our good faith actions in any future litigation,” Bayer said in a statement.

Legal representatives of the plaintiffs in the two cases expressed different views. While Pennsylvania plaintiff’s attorney cited excluded evidence [non admissibles]including a World Health Organization report on glyphosate, the California plaintiff’s lawyer did not immediately comment on his decision to withdraw from the case.

Glyphosate, which has been around since the 1970s, is the active ingredient in Roundup and other products, such as Ranger Pro, and is often targeted by activists who speak out against modern agricultural practices. Bayer’s lawyers have long argued that numerous studies have shown that Roundup is safe and that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that glyphosate is not carcinogenic.

Independently, almost all scientific organizations and associated research have affirmed the safety of glyphosate.

Bayer’s recent legal successes follow previous trial victories, although the company must appeal and punitive damages may be reduced. More than 165,000 complaints regarding Roundup have been filed against Bayer in the United States, and approximately 54,000 are still pending.

Bayer CEO Bill Anderson emphasized efforts to resolve the dispute, exploring options other than going to court. Last year, the company stopped selling glyphosate products for home use, but continues to offer other formulations of Roundup.

Bayer shares rose slightly following this news. However, the company’s shares have seen a significant decline over the past year, largely attributed to legal issues stemming from its acquisition of Roundup maker Monsanto in 2018.

Despite the legal victories, Bayer is reportedly struggling with declining profits and legal uncertainties, prompting it to reaffirm its current corporate structure while tackling legal challenges.

Lawsuits regarding glyphosate and human health generally have their origins in the classification of glyphosate as a “probable” carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 2015. When IARC made this decision, it was immediately controversial, and this controversy has continued to grow in the years since, particularly due to questionable editing of draft versions of the original report before they were made public.

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* Source : Bayer wins latest trial in Pennsylvania Roundup weedkiller suit | AGDAILY

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