Image source: Bayer AG
A jury in California has ruled that Bayer-owned chemicals company Monsanto must pay $2-billion in damages to Alva and Alberta Pilliod, an elderly couple both suffering with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma as a consequence of exposure to the glyphosate-based weedkiller Roundup.
The court ruling comes as the latest and biggest in a series of blows for the German chemicals giant, Bayer, in its US legal strife over glyphosate, and is sure to increase concerns among shareholders back in Europe and pressure on Bayer management.
Earlier this month, in a first in German corporate history, 55% of investors delivered a vote of no-confidence in CEO Werner Baumann and the company's top executives. The vote was seen as a sign of increasing dissatisfaction with Bayer management over the handling of the Monsanto acquisition and associated legal issues, as well as a more than 40% drop in share prices. Bayer acquired Monsanto for $63-billion last year.
The verdict is the third courtroom defeat in a row for Bayer, but the amount of damages awarded in the Pilliod case are by far the largest yet, completely dwarfing the damages awarded in the previous two trials.
In a statement, Bayer said that it was "disappointed" with the ruling, promising to launch an appeal against the verdict.
“The consensus among leading health regulators worldwide [is] that glyphosate-based products can be used safely and that glyphosate is not carcinogenic,” the group said.
“We have great sympathy for Mr and Mrs Pilliod, but the evidence in this case was clear that both have long histories of illnesses known to be substantial risk factors for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma . . . and there is not reliable scientific evidence to conclude that glyphosate-based herbicides were the ‘but for’ cause of their illnesses as the jury was required to find in this case,” Bayer added.
The $2-billion ruling is likely to be reduced. A report by Reuters pointed to US Supreme Court rulings that punitive to compensatory damages should be limited to a ratio of 9:1. This would cap the damages in the Pilliod case to $495-million.
There are, at present, more than 13,000 plaintiffs with lawsuits against Monsanto over the Roundup weedkiller and its links to cancer, as well as allegations that the company has hidden the risks associated with glyphosate.
During the case, attorneys presented jurors with internal Monsanto communications obtained with high-court warrants, that appear to show Monsanto had manipulated the public record. These included:
- issuing internal only safety warnings to workers over the wearing of protective gear during the handling of glyphosates that were not extended to the public.
- spending millions of dollars on ghostwritten studies and articles intended to discredit scientists who found dangers with glyphosates.
- not conducting any epidemiology studies for Roundup or any glyphosate-based product.
- Using existing relationships with the Environmental Protection Agency to assert the safety of Roundup, as well as to delay a review by the US Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
The allegations of backroom deals and smear campaigns was given extra weight on Monday, when Bayer admitted that Monsanto had compiled lists of critics and supporters of pesticides in Europe, in a move that is in breach of company policy and quite possibly illegal.
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