The US Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a key pesticide regulation case on Monday, setting the stage for a ruling that could weaken the ability of consumers to sue companies for failing to warn of product risks.
A major Supreme Court case could decide whether people can hold chemical companies accountable for harm. At the center is Roundup and a legal fight over whether federal law overrides state rights. The outcome could impact thousands of lawsuits nationwide.
Hundreds of organizations, individuals, and states are taking sides in a landmark Supreme Court pesticide case. Monsanto’s supporters say a ruling against them could trigger food shortages and leave the US vulnerable to foreign threats. Opponents say a win for Monsanto strips everyday people of their right to sue when dangerous chemicals make them sick.
Top US regulators met with Bayer’s CEO last year to discuss “litigation” issues – including “Supreme Court Action” over its glyphosate weed killer – just months before the Trump administration took a series of steps to boost Bayer’s case at the high court, internal government records show.
TNL Editor-in-Chief Carey Gillam talked with Living on Earth, a weekly environmental news and information program distributed by PRX, about about the latest developments in glyphosate lawsuits and why some in the Make America Healthy Again movement feel betrayed by the Trump Administration’s support for glyphosate.
Bayer’s proposed $7.25 billion class action settlement of Roundup litigation received preliminary approval from a Missouri court on Wednesday, rejecting opposition from a group of lawyers representing roughly 20,000 plaintiffs who claim they developed cancer from using the company’s herbicide products.
A group of 14 law firms representing nearly 20,000 plaintiffs is seeking to intervene in Bayer’s proposed class action settlement of Roundup litigation, citing concerns that the settlement deal will not be fair to cancer victims.
In an opening salvo aimed at convincing the US Supreme Court to curtail costly Roundup litigation, Bayer is citing support from President Donald Trump and US regulators while renewing a threat to stop sales of glyphosate-based herbicides to farmers if it does not prevail with the justices.
In a bold bid to put costly US Roundup litigation behind it, Bayer on Tuesday announced a $7.25 billion proposed class action settlement for users of its glyphosate-based weed killing products who have cancer now or develop cancer in the next several years, with average awards ranging from $10,000 to $165,000.
The US Supreme Court has set an April hearing in a closely watched case brought by Bayer that seeks to make the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the ultimate arbiter of warning labels on pesticides such as the company’s popular Roundup weed killer.