US judge denies Bayer's request to settle future Roundup weedkiller claims

BAYER AG will reassess its activities in the US lawn care market after a judge rejected a proposal to pay as much as US$2 billion to resolve future claims that its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer.

The decision by US District Judge Vince Chhabria on Wednesday further compounds Bayer's struggle to wrap up litigation inherited from the acquisition of Monsanto Co. In response, Bayer said it would implement a series of measures, including reviewing its US residential lawn and garden business.

While the company remains committed to the Roundup brand and the residential sector, it indicated that it may no longer use glyphosate in its products. Other steps to mitigate its risks from future claims include continuing legal appeals, reassessing settlement efforts and creating a website addressing Roundup's safety concerns.

In a brief order that addresses what the judge called only "the most glaring flaws" of the deal, Judge Chhabria turned aside the complicated agreement - the second time he's shot it down. The rejected settlement is part of a broader US$11.6 billion agreement to resolve Roundup lawsuits in the US from about 125,000 consumers and farmers. The judge said the settlement covering future claims is "clearly unreasonable" for consumers who are exposed to Roundup but aren't yet diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL) - and may not be for a decade or longer. Provisions in the settlement "greatly exaggerate" the potential benefits of four years of "vaguely described medical monitoring" for those who have not yet contracted the cancer, he said. Benefits of a compensation fund are "also vastly overstated" for that group, he ruled.

Bloomberg analysts said: "A US District Court judge's rejection of Bayer's US$2 billion plan to settle future Roundup claims wasn't entirely unexpected, in our view, given prior scepticism raised by the lower court. While it may not affect a US$10 billion settlement deal, the rejection leaves uncertainty as to how to deal with future claims.

Elizabeth Cabraser, a lawyer representing consumers in the rejected accord, said she was disappointed by the ruling but continues to believe a multi-billion-dollar class settlement is attainable. She said a deal would include, among other benefits, diagnostic assistance, compensation, free legal services, research into NHL treatment, and "Roundup label reform" to inform consumers about the science behind the link between Roundup and NHL.

The ruling is another setback for Bayer in litigation that remains a major obstacle for the company since it closed its purchase of Monsanto in 2018. The settlement process has dragged on, and more lawsuits over the weed killer pile up almost daily.

Numerous consumers objected to the settlement on a variety of grounds, saying that revisions to the earlier, rejected proposal aren't good enough. Last year, Judge Chhabria rejected a US$1.25 billion proposal for future claims. BLOOMBERG