Bayer Ordered to Pay $2.1 Billion in Newest Roundup Most cancers Verdict in Georgia
Berlin, March 22, 2025 – In a major authorized blow to Bayer AG, a jury within the U.S. state of Georgia has ordered the German pharmaceutical and agricultural big to pay roughly $2.1 billion to a plaintiff who claimed that the corporate’s Roundup weedkiller induced his most cancers. The decision, introduced late Friday, marks one of many largest settlements within the ongoing litigation surrounding the controversial herbicide and underscores the persistent challenges Bayer faces following its 2018 acquisition of Monsanto, Roundup’s unique producer.
The Georgia jury awarded $65 million in compensatory damages and a staggering $2 billion in punitive damages, in keeping with an announcement from the plaintiff’s legislation corporations, Arnold & Itkin LLP and Kline & Specter PC. The plaintiff, whose identification has not been disclosed in preliminary experiences, alleged that extended publicity to Roundup, which accommodates the herbicide glyphosate, led to the event of his most cancers. The case echoes a broader wave of lawsuits asserting that Bayer and Monsanto did not adequately warn shoppers concerning the potential well being dangers related to the product.
Bayer swiftly responded, saying its intention to attraction the choice. In an announcement, the corporate expressed disagreement with the decision, arguing that it contradicts “the overwhelming weight of scientific proof and the consensus of regulatory our bodies worldwide” that affirm glyphosate’s security. Bayer has persistently maintained that a long time of research display Roundup isn’t carcinogenic when used as directed, a place supported by regulatory companies such because the U.S. Environmental Safety Company.
The $2.1 billion award provides to the mounting monetary and reputational toll on Bayer, which has already paid out roughly $10 billion to settle tens of 1000’s of Roundup-related claims since buying Monsanto for $63 billion. Regardless of the 2020 settlement meant to resolve many of the litigation, the corporate nonetheless faces over 60,000 pending instances, for which it has reserved $5.9 billion in authorized provisions. The Georgia verdict follows different high-profile losses, together with a $2.25 billion award in Pennsylvania in January 2024 (later lowered to $400 million) and a $1.56 billion verdict in Missouri in November 2023 (subsequently reduce to $611 million).
Authorized specialists recommend that the substantial punitive damages—designed to punish Bayer for alleged misconduct—might face discount on attraction, as U.S. Supreme Court docket precedent sometimes limits punitive awards to not more than 9 instances compensatory damages. Nonetheless, the dimensions of the decision displays jurors’ robust rebuke of Bayer’s dealing with of Roundup security issues, a sentiment echoed by the plaintiff’s attorneys. “This award sends a convincing message that Bayer should be held accountable for placing earnings over folks’s lives,” the legislation corporations acknowledged.
The Roundup litigation has been a persistent thorn in Bayer’s aspect, fueling shareholder discontent and dragging down its market worth for the reason that Monsanto acquisition. Whereas Bayer has notched some courtroom victories—successful 14 of the final 20 trials—it continues to grapple with conflicting judicial outcomes. A notable authorized lifeline emerged in August 2024 when the third U.S. Circuit Court docket of Appeals dominated that federal legislation preempts sure state claims towards Bayer, a call the corporate hopes the U.S. Supreme Court docket will uphold to probably curtail future lawsuits.
For now, the Georgia case intensifies the highlight on glyphosate, which the World Well being Group’s Worldwide Company for Analysis on Most cancers labeled as “in all probability carcinogenic” in 2015—a discovering Bayer disputes. Because the authorized saga unfolds, Bayer stays steadfast in defending Roundup, emphasizing its important position in international agriculture. Nevertheless, with billions in damages and 1000’s of instances nonetheless looming, the corporate’s efforts to show the web page on this controversy seem removed from over.
The attraction course of for the Georgia verdict is predicted to start quickly, with observers watching carefully to see the way it would possibly reshape the broader Roundup litigation panorama.
