Frankfurt (Germany) (AFP) – German agrichemical giant Bayer said Tuesday its subsidiary Monsanto had proposed a class settlement of up to $7.25 billion to settle claims that the Roundup weedkiller causes blood cancer, potentially drawing a line under years of costly litigation. Under the proposed agreement, Monsanto would make a series of declining annual payments for up to 21 years, Bayer said, adding that the deal still required court approval.
Bayer has spent more than $10 billion settling thousands of cases linked to Roundup since it acquired its producer, the US agrichemical group Monsanto, in 2018. The International Agency for Research on Cancer considers glyphosate, one of Roundup’s ingredients, a probable human carcinogen, but Bayer says scientific studies and regulatory approvals show the weedkiller is safe.
The US Supreme Court in January agreed to hear Bayer’s appeal against an award of $1.25 million to a Missouri man who claimed Roundup was responsible for his blood cancer. The company argues that it should be shielded from state lawsuits since the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the sale of Roundup to US consumers and farmers without any warnings.
Speaking at a press conference, Bayer CEO Bill Anderson said the class settlement was needed despite the possibility of a favourable Supreme Court judgement. “A decision in our favour would address cases not covered by the settlement, including significant adverse pending judgments,” he said. “Plus, a favourable decision from the Supreme Court would both disincentivise and cover potential opt-outs,” he added in a reference to those claimants who might reject the proposed settlement.
Bayer shares surged after the announcement and were the best performer on Germany’s blue-chip DAX index, up 7.35 percent.
Getting the settlement through would mark a milestone for Bayer, which otherwise faces a potentially still long and expensive legal road. About 67,000 Roundup cases are still outstanding and Anderson told the Wall Street Journal last year that Bayer might give up on Roundup, the world’s most popular weedkiller, citing the cost of prolonged court battles.
Announcing that it had reached separate settlements for some Roundup cases as well as other disputes, Bayer said it was now setting aside 11.8 billion euros to pay for litigation in its business year to end September 2025, up from 7.8 billion previously. Bayer expected litigation payouts of about five billion euros for 2026 “on a first estimate,” it said, adding that it would delay announcing its financial results and 2026 guidance from February 25 to March 4.
The settlements did not contain or imply any admission of liability or wrongdoing, Anderson said, charging that the US legal system was “broken.” “Today’s announcement does not take away from the truth, a truth that scientists and regulators around the planet continue to uphold, that glyphosate is safe and essential,” he said. “So while this settlement is necessary for the company today, we maintain our significant objections to the broken tort system that makes it necessary.”
© 2024 AFP
