Atlanta, Georgia — A jury in Georgia has recently mandated Bayer, a German chemical conglomerate, to pay a staggering $2.1 billion in damages to a plaintiff who claimed that the company’s widely used weedkiller, Roundup, was responsible for his cancer. This substantial verdict is one of the highest in the series of lawsuits related to Roundup.
Bayer, which has contested the verdict, affirmed on March 22 its plans to appeal. The company argues that the judgment contradicts a plethora of scientific evidence supporting the safety of glyphosate, Roundup’s primary ingredient, validated by global regulatory bodies.
The verdict earmarked $65 million for compensatory damages and an overwhelming $2 billion for punitive damages. Bayer has expressed its intent to challenge both the verdict and the punitive damages, labeling them as excessive and unconstitutional.
This legal battle comes in the wake of Bayer’s $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto in 2018, the U.S. agrochemical company that developed Roundup. Since the takeover, Bayer has been swamped with litigation regarding Roundup. To date, the company has disbursed approximately $10 billion in settlements pertaining to these claims.
Presently, around 60,000 more cases are looming worldwide, compelling Bayer to allocate $5.9 billion in legal provisions to address potential future lawsuits.
This series of legal issues coincides with Bayer’s indication earlier in March that it might discontinue selling Roundup unless the U.S. government enhances protections against product liability lawsuits. In response to these ongoing challenges, Bayer reached out to the agricultural community through an open letter, emphasizing the critical situation faced due to these litigations.
In its letter, Bayer highlighted the financial burden imposed by ongoing litigations which exceed $10 billion with no foreseeable resolution, painting a grim future for the availability of Roundup. The letter also urged farmers to engage with legislators to communicate the severe impacts that losing access to glyphosate could have on their farming operations.
In its defense, Bayer consistently cites numerous studies over decades which assert that Roundup, along with its active ingredient glyphosate, is safe when used as directed. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also supports this, having sanctioned glyphosate as safe for use.
The case in Georgia, however, underscores the ongoing controversy and public scrutiny surrounding the safety of glyphosate and presents a significant corporate challenge for Bayer as it maneuvers through both the courtrooms and the court of public opinion. The company remains steadfast in its commitment to defend the product that it claims is backed by “the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence.”
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