Bayer wins case over weedkiller

An appeal is expected following Bayer's first jury trial win over claims the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer, according to a lawyer representing the plaintiff.

A Los Angeles County jury handed down the verdict on Tuesday, saying that a child's alleged exposure to Roundup was not a substantial factor in causing his Burkitt's lymphoma.

Tuesday's verdict is Bayer's first win in a jury trial. The company previously committed more than $10 billion to settle similar lawsuits. According to Reuters, the company has settled roughly 96,000 Roundup cases of about 125,000.

It was a bifurcated trial and the jury was asked in the first phase to decide whether Roundup was a substantial factor in causing cancer. With the verdict, the trial came to an end. Clark et al. v. Monsanto Company et al. 20STCV46616 (L.A. Sup. Ct., filed Dec. 4, 2020).

The plaintiff, Destiny Clark, said her son developed cancer after she used Monsanto's Roundup product to kill weeds on her lawn. She sued Monsanto and the parent company, Bayer AG.

"The jury's verdict in favor of the company on causation brings this trial to a successful conclusion and is consistent with the assessments of expert regulators worldwide as well as the overwhelming weight of four decades of extensive science," according to a statement from Bayer. "While we have great sympathy for Ezra Clark and his family, the jury carefully considered the science applicable to this case and determined that Roundup was not the cause of his illness."

But Clark's counsel, Fletch Trammell of Trammell PC, said on Wednesday that the firm would explore appellate options after finishing a case currently being tried in San Bernardino. A lawsuit was filed last year in San Bernardino against Monsanto and Bayer over claims that Roundup caused non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in a woman who said she used it in her backyard. Stephens v. Monsanto Co., CIVSB2104801 (San Bernardino Co. Super. Ct., filed Aug. 4, 2020).

Commenting on the recent verdict, Trammel said that the case was unlike any of the other three trials.

"The judge bifurcated the case and in phase one, the jury was asked only whether his exposure to Roundup was sufficient to cause his NHL [non-Hodgkin's lymphoma]," Trammel said. "No Monsanto witnesses or documents were shown. The jury heard nothing of Monsanto's misconduct. The jury believed that Roundup causes non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, but in the end, the studies require a high level of exposure to double the risk, which is what California law requires. The jury said they didn't believe a 4-year-old could have gotten the level of exposure required."

A 1st District Court of Appeal recently affirmed an $86.7 million verdict for a couple who sued Bayer. An Alameda County jury awarded the couple over $2 billion.