Monsanto Roundup Lawsuit
We Are No Longer Accepting New Monsanto Roundup Cases
Monsanto Roundup (glyphosate) weed killer is designated as a probable human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an arm of the World Health Organization (WHO). Farmers, farmworkers, landscapers, gardeners, and others who use Roundup weed killer or other glyphosate-based herbicides are at risk for developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other forms of cancer.
Faced with the prospect of paying massive medical bills and losing wages due to a cancer diagnosis, consumers from across the United States who were exposed to Roundup are making the decision to file a Roundup cancer lawsuit against Monsanto (now Bayer).
Roundup Settlement Update - Monsanto (Bayer) Agrees to Pay $10.9 Billion
On June 24, 2020, Bayer AG publicly announced that the multinational company had reached settlement agreements in principle with five of the leading law firms in the Roundup cancer litigation. The agreements would resolve more than 100,000 Roundup lawsuits for roughly $11 billion.
The agreements were reached after more than a year of negotiations and three consecutive trial losses for Bayer. Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman served on the trial teams for all three of those trials and the firm’s vice president and a senior shareholder R. Brent Wisner served as co-lead counsel in two of the three cases, delivering the opening and closing statements. The trials resulted in a combined $2.424 billion in jury verdicts for the plaintiffs. Mr. Wisner was also an integral part of the settlement negotiations with Bayer.
Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman issued the following statement after the settlement was announced:
Baum Hedlund is pleased with the settlement. It is a big first step in correcting the forty years of harm caused by glyphosate. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is devastating. Over the last four years, as we have pressed this litigation forward despite innumerable obstacles, we have had tremendous success in a few important cases. But, those successes have been tempered with the fact that many of our clients continue to suffer from the consequences of cancer. This settlement is for everyone and should help our clients rebuild and move forward in a meaningful way. Actual settlement amounts are yet to be determined, and each of our clients will be made an individual offer based on the facts of their case. For now, however, this is an important and historic day in the fight to protect consumers from harmful pesticides. And, while the story of glyphosate is not over—there are likely many fights surrounding cancer, food safety, and GMOs to be had—this chapter of the glyphosate litigation is over.
Appellate Win for Plaintiff in Johnson v. Monsanto
Statement by Co-Lead Trial Counsel and Baum Hedlund Senior Shareholder R. Brent Wisner:
"This is another major victory for Lee and his family. Nearly every argument by Monsanto was rejected, including Monsanto's vaunted preemption defense, and the verdict was upheld. The reduction in damages is a function of a deep flaw in California tort law, not the merits of the case. Basically, California law does not allow a plaintiff to recover for a shortened life expectancy. This effectively rewards a defendant for killing a plaintiff, as opposed to just injuring him. It is madness. That Lee will not live an entire life with his wife and children should be compensable. Hopefully, when the issue gets before the California Supreme Court, we can change this irrational law." -July 20, 2020