Federal Court Blocks Monsanto's Roundup Appeal

Federal Court Blocks Monsanto's Roundup Appeal

Introduction

An important victory for the thousands of people who contracted cancer after being exposed to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide was achieved on Tuesday when a federal appellate court blocked Monsanto's most recent attempt to have legitimate state court lawsuits dismissed and the claims transferred to federal court.

Other claims against Bayer and its Monsanto subsidiary also have clarity due to the decision. It also means that a Georgia man who was diagnosed with fibrous histiocytoma after using Roundup on his lawn for 30 years can ask a Georgia jury to consider Monsanto's track record of neglecting to inform customers about the risks associated with their glyphosate-based herbicide.

The ruling rejecting Monsanto's claim that these failure-to-warn claims could only be filed in federal courts was written by a senior U.S. Circuit Court Judge. The court ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) initial safety determinations, which led to the approval of Monsanto's proposed label and the registration of Roundup for sale, lack the legal weight required for such federal preemption, particularly in light of the fact that pesticide manufacturers are constantly required to follow federal labeling regulations and to notify the EPA of any new adverse effects.

In the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) context, the opinion notes that Congress provided broad latitude for state regulation, allowing a state to regulate the use of any federally registered pesticide or device as long as the regulation does not permit any sale or use forbidden by FIFRA. A state agency may also prohibit the sale of a pesticide if it subsequently determines that one of the applications listed on the label is dangerous.

The Dallas-based trial lawyer, whose firm is defending more than 5,000 cancer patients in a lawsuit against Monsanto, claimed that the 11th Circuit saw right through Monsanto's attempts to escape responsibility for its hazardous product and its long history of refusing to label Roundup with a straightforward warning.

Three federal bellwether trials that found exposure to the herbicide in Roundup to be the cause of cancer resulted in multimillion dollar damages. The judgments stood up to appeal, including a $25 million judgement that Bayer appealed all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States.