Bayer’s five-point plan to the closure of glyphosate related litigation began: “Step 1: Seek positive ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court.”
The Roundup manufacturer, however, fell at its first hurdle in late 2022. The Supreme Court denied Bayer’s bid, upon appeal, to close the thousands of lawsuits claiming that their product, Roundup, causes cancer.
Who did jump a hurdle, in this figurative race, was a Californian man who received a judgement of $25 million after developing cancer from glyphosate exposure due to Roundup. Bayer disagreed with the judgement stating that it “undermined the ability of companies to rely on official actions taken by expert regulatory agencies.”
Bayer argued in its defense that their product has been deemed safe and non-carcinogenic multiple times by regulatory agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2020. The findings by these agencies have been scrutinized though, and the appellate court unequivocally asked for the EPA to re-examine its results.
The judgements are creating huge problems within Bayer’s plan to halt the litigation that they have been plagued with since their $63 billion takeover of Monsanto. Edwin Hardeman, the Californian man, is just the most recent case of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma from the worlds most popular weed killer to win in court.
James Onder was one of the first attorneys to file suit in the Roundup cases, spearheading the deluge of litigation upon Bayer today. His OnderLaw team continues to fight Bayer-Monsanto and their attempt to evade any form of justice. Onder and his team represent more than 20,000 Americans affected by Roundup-related illness from glyphosate exposure. Even with such a devastatingly large number of people whose lives have been ruined, Bayer-Monsanto has still not truly been held accountable for their actions.
Bayer, most recently, has won four trials against plaintiffs claiming to have developed cancer from prolonged Roundup use. Each case has its own individual circumstances, however. Some cases are stronger than others. Some cases that go to trial are chosen by plaintiffs’ attorneys for their strengths, and other cases are chosen by defense attorneys for their weaknesses.
Nearly 30,000 cases are awaiting trial.
The Supreme Court decision can only stand as a testament to the work of Onder and other attorneys in creating a precedent for future litigation against Bayer. Bayer’s share price has fallen by 4% with the decision.
With loss comes changes
This should hopefully bring somewhat of an end to glyphosate related cancers. The first case brought to trial was that of Dewayne Johnson and it was a landmark decision. In San Francisco Jurors found that Roundup had substantially contributed to the man’s non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Johnson was a groundskeeper for the Benicia Unified school District, and he was tasked with using the Bayer-Monsanto product on the school’s properties.
The San Francisco judgement found that the potential cancer-causing risks of the herbicide were known to the company and that the company failed to warn the user of such risks. Johnson was awarded $289 million in damages from Monsanto.
Since 2018, and Dewayne Johnson’s trial and those that followed have given hope to many who trusted Monsanto. They have also helped to educate thousands of agricultural workers of the dangers.
Onder is working to ensure that the remaining 30,000 plaintiffs receive the justice they deserve.
