Federal judge says he will reduce $80 million verdict against Monsanto

A San Francisco federal judge said Tuesday he will trim a jury's $80 million award to a 70-year-old man who served as the first test case on accusations Bayer AG-owned Monsanto's weed killer causes cancer.

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria said "it's just a question of how much" he will reduce punitive damages to comply with "constitutional limitations."

Plaintiff Edwin Hardeman was awarded $75 million in punitive damages, roughly $5 million in future and past noneconomic damages and $200,000 in economic damages.

In what could be another blow to plaintiff's attorneys, Chhabria also asked how to justify $3 million in damages for past harm compared to $2 million in future harm.

"I can't think of a rational justification for the two awards being so close to one another given the disparity of the harm," Chhabria said.

Hardeman suffered a "great deal" before trial because he "didn't know whether he would live or die, went through horrible chemotherapy treatment ... and didn't really get a clean bill of health," Chhabria said.

But the judge added he does not have a basis for concluding that future harm is almost as great as the past harm.

"I want to be clear that I'm not saying it's a walk in the park," Chhabria said. "I'm only questioning if it comes close to the harm that he already suffered when he thought he was going to die."

Kentucky-based plaintiff's attorney Jennifer Moore responded that Hardeman continues to suffer from "fear, mental anguish and anxiety" in addition to an increased risk of all cancers.

The trial was the first of three test cases in the consolidated litigation against the Bayer-AG owned company. In re: Roundup Liability Litigation, 16-MD02741 (N.D. Cal., filed Oct. 4, 2016).

Punitive damages will be recalculated to range from equal to or nine times the amount of compensatory damages, which may also be reconsidered.

-- Winston Cho