Bayer has been selling the glyphosate-containing product on a large scale since the Monsanto takeover.
(Photo: dpa)
Dusseldorf
Bayer has taken another step to finally get rid of the risk and burden of the wave of lawsuits over the weed killer glyphosate. Because on Monday the chances increased that the US Supreme Court will review the previous judgments in the proceedings and decide in the final instance in Bayer’s favor.
The Leverkusen-based company had submitted such an application to the US Supreme Court in the summer. First of all, the court has to decide whether it will accept this at all. The Supreme Court dismisses most such advances and only handles a single-digit number of appeals each year. The decisive factor is whether the court sees a fundamental need for clarification.
On Monday, the Supreme Court did not yet accept Bayer’s motion. The judges first stipulated that the American government had to issue an opinion. However, the Leverkusen team rated this as an “encouraging signal” on Monday. Because it at least shows that the judges consider the case so important and interesting that they do not directly dismiss it.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
Bayer hopes a ruling by the Supreme Court will send a signal that will prevent all further lawsuits relating to alleged health risks from the glyphosate-containing weed killer Roundup. It’s not even about the question of whether the drug is actually carcinogenic.
In the lawsuits that Bayer had lost so far, in which the company was sentenced to millions in damages, the core question was: Should the acquired subsidiary Monsanto have pointed out the cancer risk on Roundup’s product labels? The juries in California considered this necessary with reference to state law and accused Monsanto of malicious behavior because a warning was missing. Bayer failed in court three times.
The basis would be withdrawn from further lawsuits
Bayer not only rejected the allegation of suspected cancer, but argued that Monsanto should not have posted such a warning at all. This is only possible with federal approval from the responsible American environmental agency, the EPA. However, they still classify glyphosate as safe and harmless and consider a warning to be misleading.
The US Supreme Court is now to assess whether the federal law imposed by the EPA stands above the law of states like California. If the court finally accepts the case and answers this question in the affirmative, this would put Bayer in an advantageous legal position. Because this would remove the basis for further lawsuits.
The Leverkusen-based company could then possibly put the stressful glyphosate issue aside forever. The ten billion dollars previously spent on an out-of-court settlement with more than 100,000 plaintiffs would not bring such a judgment back. But US law firms are likely to end up soliciting new lawsuits because the prospects for a win in court would be poor.
In this case, Bayer could release provisions for a further $ 4.5 billion. The company put this money aside this summer to settle future legal disputes over glyphosate.
Since the application to the Supreme Court, Bayer has only entered into a few settlement negotiations. “Since the court has now requested the statement of the US government, we will completely dispense with settlement negotiations with those plaintiffs’ attorneys who represent a significant number of claims,” the group announced on Monday. Bayer recently won two glyphosate processes.
It will take a few months again until the US government’s requested statement by the Supreme Court is available. Ultimate clarity for Bayer, the employees and the investors will only come late next year.
More: Bayer wins second US glyphosate litigation victory