In a bit of a plot twist, Bayer just scored a win in a lawsuit brought against them by a guy from California who claimed his cancer was a result of using their Roundup weed killer. This win is like a breath of fresh air for the company, finally ending a tough five-trial losing streak in cases that were kind of similar.
When the news of the verdict hit, announced by judges of the superior court of San Benito County in California last Friday, Bayer must’ve felt like they dodged a bullet. In a statement, the company stressed that the decision lines up with the evidence presented during the trial, backing up their belief that Roundup isn’t to blame for the poor guy’s illness.
We haven’t heard from Bruce Jones’ legal team yet, the guy who brought the case. Bruce, like a bunch of others tangled up in Roundup lawsuits, thinks this weedkiller played a part in giving him non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Now, with a crazy 165,000 claims against Bayer, saying their weedkiller caused all sorts of personal injuries, you can imagine the pressure on the company. Roundup became part of the Bayer family in 2018, when they threw down a whopping $63 billion to snag up U.S. agrochemical company Monsanto.
Before this recent legal win, Bayer was on a losing streak, coughing up over $2 billion in verdicts. But, let’s not forget, they were once on a winning streak, snagging victories in nine trials straight. With this recent victory, they’ve managed to notch up 10 wins out of the last 15 trials. Still, the drama’s not over – more cases are in the pipeline for the coming year.
In response to the not-so-great verdicts, Bayer’s going the legal route of appeal, especially challenging those big punitive damages that go beyond what the U.S. Supreme Court recommends. Investors are side-eyeing Bayer’s legal moves, with some wondering if they’ve got the right strategy. Even though they’ve taken a financial hit, Bayer stuck to their guns last month, saying they’re not into cutting big checks to settle these cases; they’d rather fight it out in court.
Back in 2020, Bayer did settle Roundup cases up to a hefty $9.6 billion. But, they couldn’t lock in a deal settling future cases. Now, more than 50,000 claims are still hanging in the balance, making sure the legal rollercoaster around Roundup is far from done.
