A Pennsylvania judge substantially decreased a $2.25 billion U.S. verdict against Bayer, reducing it to $400 million. This award was given to John McKivison, a man who claimed he contracted non-Hodgkin lymphoma after using Bayer’s Roundup weedkiller during yard chores over several years. The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas jury initially awarded McKivison $250 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages.
The judge revised the amount, setting compensatory damages at $50 million and punitive damages at $350 million. However, Bayer stated it intends to appeal to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, listing numerous reasons why it believed the trial was improper due to ‘compelling’ and ‘prejudicial’ testimony admitted by the court. A Bayer representative involved in the case called for a reversal of the verdict, arguing that numerous errors interfered with the correct decision on liability, despite the reduction in damages.
Bayer also urged for regulatory changes for companies in the U.S. with products that meet federal labeling laws. McKivison’s attorneys, Tom Kline and Jason Itkin, argued that the judge vindicated the jury’s verdict that Roundup caused cancer, but they plan to appeal to restore the initial $2.25 billion verdict. They asserted that the method used to reduce the jury’s award contradicts Pennsylvania law on appraisal.
Bayer contends that numerous studies have supported the safety of Roundup and glyphosate for human use. However, Bayer no longer sells Roundup for residential use as of the previous year. Bayer has faced up to twenty trials for Roundup, achieving success in 14 out of 20. However, the company suffered significant losses in the last quarter of 2023 and early 2024, costing over $4 billion in verdicts, though some were later reduced. These recent losses ended a nine-trial winning streak and dampened hopes that the bulk of Roundup litigation was over.
So far, around 165,000 Roundup claims have been filed against Bayer in the U.S., stemming from Monsanto’s acquisition by Bayer for $63 billion in 2018. The majority of plaintiffs, like McKivison, claimed the product led to them contracting non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Most of the outstanding Roundup claims were resolved in 2020 for up to $9.15 billion but failed to reach an agreement on payment for some future claims. Currently, more than 50,000 claims are pending.
