Supreme Court to Hear Arguments in Landmark Roundup Weedkiller Case
The New York Times • • business
Key Points:
- The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Monday regarding a case that could dismiss tens of thousands of lawsuits against Bayer, alleging that its weedkiller Roundup causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
- Roundup, developed by Monsanto in the 1970s and now owned by Bayer, has faced extensive litigation due to concerns over its active ingredient glyphosate, which the WHO classified as "probably carcinogenic to humans" in 2015.
- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers glyphosate safe, and Bayer argues that the EPA’s approval preempts state-level lawsuits, potentially shielding the company from liability.
- The case involves John Durnell, a gardener diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, who sued Monsanto in 2019 for failing to warn about the cancer risks associated with Roundup.
- The Trump administration has officially supported Bayer in the case, reversing the Biden administration’s stance, and issued an executive order prioritizing glyphosate production under the Defense Production Act.
