PHILADELPHIA/LEVERKUSEN (dpa-AFX) – Pharmaceutical and agrochemical group Bayer will have to pay much less than expected in a lawsuit over the glyphosate-based weedkiller Roundup. A Philadelphia court reduced the damages awarded by a jury to the plaintiff from $2.25 billion to $400 million (367.5 million euros), according to court documents released late Tuesday. This is to date the highest amount of damages since the start of the Roundup weedkiller trials in 2018. Bayer has nevertheless announced that it will appeal.
“Although the court reduced the unconstitutional damages amount, we disagree with the court’s decision on the merits,” the company said Wednesday. The procedure was marked by serious errors. These could and should be corrected. Bayer further highlights that the group has won its cases in court in 14 of the 20 most recent cases. In addition, most of the complaints have been resolved, the statement added.
Problems with the herbicide Roundup, which contains glyphosate, emerged in 2018 when Bayer bought the US company Monsanto for more than $60 billion. The same year, a first judgment was rendered against the Dax company. This sparked a wave of complaints in the United States. In 2020, Bayer launched a multibillion-dollar program to settle most of the complaints without admitting liability. A good number of complaints have been dealt with, but risks remain. At the end of January, there were around 54,000 outstanding cases out of a total of around 165,000. The wave of complaints against glyphosate has already cost Bayer 13 billion euros. Provisions amounted to $6.3 billion (€5.7 billion) at the end of 2023.
