Bayer said that the company is setting aside an additional $4.5 billion to cover its potential exposure for future claims from plaintiffs alleging they developed cancer after using its Roundup weedkiller.
The future of the litigation hinges in large part on whether it succeeds in appealing a recent case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The company says it will soon ask the high court to review the 9th Circ. May decision in Edwin Hardeman’s suit alleging that the active ingredient glyphosate in Roundup causes cancer. Iif the court takes the case and rules in the company’s favor on the state-based failure-to-warn claims, that could stop future litigation in its tracks.
If the Supreme Court takes the case, Bayer will stop all settlement efforts while it’s pending.
But if the high court either doesn’t take the case or takes it and then rules against Bayer, the company plans to continue with a five-point plan, with the $4.5 billion coming in addition to $2 billion the company previously set aside for a proposed settlement of future Roundup claims.
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in May struck down a $2 billion deal meant to cover two groups of Roundup users: those who have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma but haven’t yet filed suit, and those who have been exposed to Roundup but haven’t yet developed cancer.
Law360: https://www.law360.com/articles/1406769/bayer-to-set-aside-another-4-5b-for-future-roundup-claims