Monsanto's Ex CEO To Testify In Roundup Trial

Monsanto's Ex CEO To Testify In Roundup Trial

Introduction

Bayer AG faces the first Roundup trial outside the state of California, where the ex-chief executive officer of Monsanto will testify over the cancer risks associated with the weedkiller.

As per the lawsuit, the former Roundup user alleges that he got diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma because of the company's weedkiller. The lawsuit even alleges that the company knowingly withheld the side effects of the weedkiller that it causes cancer. The user informed that he would not have used the product if he would have been informed about the consequences earlier.

The opening arguments would be heard by the jurors in Kansas City, Missouri. Bayer intended to acquire Monsanto in September 2016 and completed the sale in May 2018 after the approval of the European Union and the United States. Since then, the company has paid billions to settle tens of thousands of cases and still faces about 30,000 suits over the product.

Earlier, the state's appeals' court upheld a ruling in a Missouri case where a judge ordered Monsanto’s ex-CEO to testify. Monsanto has earlier lost three cases outside California where the company will pay almost $50 million in damages for each consumer and defeated two other cases.

The spokesperson for Bayer responded to the lawsuit by stating that it has sympathy for the user, but Roundup isn’t responsible for his illness as per the extensive research conducted by the company. The company even said that the testimony from its former CEO is not necessary after he gave a five-hour deposition, but it believes that his testimony will only strengthen the argument. The testimony would help the company to get rid of the thousands of future suits.

Monsanto was led by the ex-CEO from 2003 until 2018 when Bayer bought it for $63 billion. As per the court filings, he was the sole decision-maker of the company over those 15 years who looked after the marketing and sale of Roundup.

Bayer indicated that if the high court refuses to review the Californian plaintiff's $25 million award, then it will add another $4.5 billion to the $11 billion which the company has kept aside to resolve the Roundup lawsuits.