Roundup is a popular herbicide that has been used by farmers, landscapers, and homeowners for decades. However, in recent years, Roundup has been the subject of numerous lawsuits alleging that exposure to the herbicide causes cancer. The lawsuits have been filed against Monsanto, the manufacturer of Roundup, and its parent company Bayer AG. In this blog post, we will provide an update on the current status of Roundup litigation.

Background

Roundup contains a chemical called glyphosate, which has been linked to cancer by several studies. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate as a “probable carcinogen.” Since then, thousands of individuals who were exposed to Roundup and developed cancer have filed lawsuits against Monsanto and Bayer.

Litigation Status

As of May 2023, there are currently more than 125,000 lawsuits pending against Monsanto and Bayer related to Roundup. The majority of these lawsuits have been consolidated into multidistrict litigation (MDL) proceedings in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The MDL allows multiple lawsuits to be consolidated into a single proceeding to save time and resources.

In addition to the MDL, there have been several individual lawsuits filed against Monsanto and Bayer in state courts across the country. In 2018, a jury in California awarded $289 million in damages to a former school groundskeeper who claimed that his cancer was caused by exposure to Roundup. The damages were later reduced to $78 million. Since then, several other juries have also awarded significant damages to plaintiffs in Roundup lawsuits.

In 2020, Bayer announced that it would pay up to $9.6 billion to settle the Roundup lawsuits. The settlement would resolve most of the pending lawsuits and provide compensation for individuals who were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after using Roundup. However, the settlement has yet to be approved by a judge and some plaintiffs have refused to participate in the settlement.

What's Next?

The Roundup litigation is still ongoing and it is unclear when it will be fully resolved. In May 2023, Bayer announced that it had reached a new settlement agreement with some plaintiffs' lawyers that could resolve many of the remaining cases. However, the terms of the settlement have not been disclosed and it is unclear if all plaintiffs will agree to the terms.

The Roundup litigation is one of the largest mass tort litigations in history and has brought attention to the potential dangers of glyphosate. While there is still much uncertainty about the outcome of the litigation, it is clear that the controversy surrounding Roundup is not going away anytime soon. If you believe that you have been exposed to Roundup and have developed Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) or chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), it is important to speak with an experienced attorney who can advise you on your legal rights and options.