Editing Roundup (herbicide) (section)

==Legal==
{{Primary sources section|date=December 2023}}
In the ten months following Bayer's June 2018 acquisition of Monsanto, its stock lost 46% of its value because of investor apprehension concerning the 11,200 lawsuits filed against its subsidiary.<ref name="Moutot">{{cite news|url=https://www.lesechos.fr/industrie-services/industrie-lourde/0600982774167-glyphosate-monsanto-condamne-pour-la-deuxieme-fois-aux-etats-unis-2255984.php|title=Glyphosate: nouveau revers judiciare pour Bayer|author=Anaïs Moutot|newspaper=Les Echos|date=28 March 2019|access-date=30 March 2019|language=fr}}</ref>  As of 2023, around 165,000 claims have been made against Bayer, mostly alleging that Roundup had caused cancer.<ref name=":1" /> Bayer has settled tens of thousands of those claims and has agreed to pay billions in damages, but, as of 2023, more than 50,000 similar claims were still pending.<ref name=":1" /> In December 2023, Bayer won a case against a claim that Roundup had caused a man's cancer. In a statement they said the outcome was "consistent with the evidence in this case that Roundup does not cause cancer and is not responsible for the plaintiff's illness". At that time, Bayer had previously won 10 of 15 such cases.<ref name=":1"/>

Most cases claiming injury from Roundup are based on a failure-to-warn theory of liability, meaning Monsanto is liable for a plaintiff's injury because it failed to warn the plaintiff that Roundup can cause cancer.  The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 2021, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in early 2024, held that such state-law failure to warn claims were not preempted by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act ("FIFRA").  In August 2024, however, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that FIFRA does preempt state-law failure to warn claims involving Roundup, expressly recognizing that its holding conflicts with that of the Ninth and Eleventh Circuits.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 August 2024 |title=Schaffner v. Monsanto Corporation |url=https://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/223075p.pdf |access-date=17 August 2024 |website=Third Circuit United States Court of Appeals}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Stempel |date=16 August 2024 |title=Bayer wins US legal victory against Roundup cancer claims; shares surge |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/bayer-wins-big-us-legal-victory-against-roundup-cancer-claims-shares-surge-2024-08-16/ |access-date=17 August 2024 |website=Reuters}}</ref> This conflict among the Third, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuit creates a heightened potential that the United States Supreme Court will review the Third Circuit's decision so that the Supreme Court can resolve the conflict among the Courts of Appeals.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Feeley |date=16 August 2024 |title=Bayer surges after Roundup appeal wins in Philadelphia court |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/bayer-wins-roundup-appeal-that-could-help-corral-cancer-suits |access-date=17 August 2024 |website=Blomberg Law}}</ref><ref>Lieb, David A., ''[https://apnews.com/article/bayer-roundup-cancer-lawsuits-supreme-court-dc9baf29612963856829564e8ee77195 Weedkiller maker asks US Supreme Court to block lawsuits claiming it failed to warn about cancer]'', Associated Press, April 7, 2025</ref>

===Cancer cases===
<!-- If you update this, consider also updating [[Glyphosate]], [[Glyphosate-based herbicides]], [[Monsanto]], and [[Bayer]]. -->

As of October 30, 2019, there were more than 42,000 plaintiffs who said that glyphosate herbicides caused their cancer.<ref>{{cite news
  |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-30/bayer-is-now-facing-42-700-plaintiffs-in-roundup-litigation
  |title=Bayer's Roundup Headache Grows as Plaintiffs Pile Into Court
  |date=October 30, 2019  |publisher=[[Bloomberg News]]  |access-date=October 31, 2019
  |language=en}}</ref> After the [[International Agency for Research on Cancer|IARC]] classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans" in March 2015,<ref name="iarcmono" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=IARC Monograph on Glyphosate |url=https://www.iarc.who.int/featured-news/media-centre-iarc-news-glyphosate/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220712185952/https://www.iarc.who.int/featured-news/media-centre-iarc-news-glyphosate/ |archive-date=2022-07-12 |access-date=2023-09-04 |website=[[International Agency for Research on Cancer]]}}</ref> many state and federal lawsuits were filed in the United States. Early on, over 300 of them were consolidated into a [[multidistrict litigation]] called [[Monsanto legal cases|''In re: RoundUp Products Liability'']].<ref>{{Cite news
|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-14/monsanto-judge-pictures-weed-killer-showers-amid-cancer-debate
|title=Monsanto's Cancer Fight Judge Pictures Weed Killer Showers
|date=March 14, 2018 |access-date=August 17, 2018 |publisher=[[Bloomberg News]]}}</ref>

On August 10, 2018, [[Dewayne "Lee" Johnson|Dewayne Johnson]], who has [[Non-Hodgkin lymphoma|non-Hodgkin's lymphoma]], was awarded $289 million in damages (later cut to $78 million on appeal<ref>{{cite news
    |title=Groundskeeper Accepts Reduced $78 Million Award In Monsanto Cancer Suit
    |first=Emily |last=Sullivan |publisher=[[National Public Radio]]
    |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/11/01/662812333/groundskeeper-accepts-reduced-78-million-in-monsanto-cancer-suit
    |access-date=July 29, 2019}}</ref> then reduced to $21 million after another appeal<ref>{{cite news
|last1=Egelko |first1=Bob |title=Award to Vallejo groundskeeper in Monsanto cancer case slashed again - verdict upheld
|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Award-to-Vallejo-groundskeeper-in-Monsanto-cancer-15421705.php
|access-date=March 3, 2021 |publisher=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]
|date=July 21, 2020}}</ref>) after a jury in [[San Francisco]] found that Monsanto had failed to adequately warn consumers of cancer risks posed by the herbicide.<ref>{{cite news
     |title=Monsanto ordered to pay $289 million in world's first Roundup...
     |work=Reuters  |access-date=August 17, 2018 |date=August 11, 2018
     |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-monsanto-cancer-lawsuit/jury-orders-monsanto-to-pay-290-million-in-california-roundup-cancer-trial-idUSKBN1KV2HB}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45154362
|title=Weedkiller 'doesn't cause cancer' - Bayer
|date=August 11, 2018 |work=[[BBC News]]  |access-date=August 11, 2018
|language=en-GB}}</ref> Johnson had routinely used two different glyphosate formulations in his work as a groundskeeper, RoundUp and another Monsanto product called Ranger Pro.<ref name="smh">{{Cite news
|last=Johnston |first=Gretel |title=Dying cancer patient awarded $395m in Monsanto Roundup case
|work=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=August 18, 2018 |date=August 11, 2018
|url= https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/dying-cancer-patient-awarded-a395m-in-monsanto-roundup-case-20180811-p4zwww.html}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Judkins |first1=Donna R |title=Draft Ecological Risk Assessment for the Registration Review of Dichlorvos, Naled, and Trichlorfon |date=June 17, 2020 |page=33 |publisher=UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY |last2=Wente |first2=Stephen P}}</ref> The jury's verdict addressed the question of whether Monsanto knowingly failed to warn consumers that RoundUp could be harmful, but not whether RoundUp causes cancer.<ref>{{Cite news |issn=0027-8378 |last=Ebersole |first=Rene |title=Monsanto Just Lost a Case Linking Its Weed Killer to Cancer |magazine=[[The Nation]] |access-date=August 18, 2018 |date=August 17, 2018 |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/monsanto-just-lost-a-case-linking-its-weedkiller-to-cancer/ |archive-date=August 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817153043/https://www.thenation.com/article/monsanto-just-lost-a-case-linking-its-weedkiller-to-cancer/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Court documents from the case alleged the company's efforts to influence scientific research via [[Medical ghostwriter|ghostwriting]].<ref name=HakimNYT>{{Cite news |work=[[The New York Times]] 
  |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/01/business/monsantos-sway-over-research-is-seen-in-disclosed-emails.html
  |title=Monsanto Emails Raise Issue of Influencing Research on Roundup Weed Killer
  |first=Danny |last=Hakim |date=August 1, 2018 |access-date=October 13, 2018 |language=en}}</ref>

In January 2019, [[Costco]] decided to stop carrying Roundup or other glyphosate-based herbicides. The decision was reportedly influenced in part by the public court cases.<ref>{{Cite web
|url=https://people.com/home/costco-removes-roundup-after-2-billion-lawsuit
|title=Costco Will Reportedly Remove Roundup from Stores After $2 Billion Awarded to Couple Who Claimed Weed Killer Caused Their Cancer
|magazine=[[People (magazine)|People magazine]] |language=en |access-date=December 8, 2019}}</ref>

In March 2019, a man was awarded $80 million (later cut to $26 million on appeal<ref name="AP2019-07-15">{{cite news|url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2019/07/15/80-million-award-reduced-monsanto-roundup-cancer-patient/|title=Judge Reduces $80M Award In Roundup Case; Cancer Patient, Monsanto Both Consider Appeal|date=2019-07-15|access-date=2019-07-27|publisher=[[KPIX-TV]]|agency=Associated Press|location=San Francisco}}</ref>) in a lawsuit claiming Roundup was a substantial factor in his cancer.<ref>{{cite news | title = Jury Awards $80 Million In Damages In Roundup Weed Killer Cancer Trial |first=Richard |last=Gonzales |date=March 29, 2019 |publisher=[[NPR]] 
|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/03/27/707439575/jury-awards-80-million-in-damages-in-roundup-weed-killer-cancer-trial | access-date=2019-07-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = Louisville lawyer wins $80M verdict against Monsanto over weedkiller Roundup | first = Andrew | last = Wolfson | work = [[The Courier-Journal]] | location = Louisville, Kentucky | date = 2019-03-28 | url = https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2019/03/28/monsanto-roundup-cancer-lawsuit-louisville-lawyer-wins-huge-verdict-80-million/3295421002/ | access-date = 2019-07-29}}</ref> U.S. District Judge [[Vince Chhabria]] stated that a punitive award was appropriate because the evidence "easily supported a conclusion that Monsanto was more concerned with tamping down safety inquiries and manipulating public opinion than it was with ensuring its product is safe."  Chhabria stated that there was evidence on both sides as to whether glyphosate causes cancer, and that the behavior of Monsanto showed "a lack of concern about the risk that its product might be carcinogenic."<ref name="AP2019-07-15" />

On May 13, 2019, a jury in California ordered Bayer to pay a couple $2 billion in damages (later cut to $87 million on appeal<ref name=LessGelt2B>{{cite news
|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/07/26/judge-cuts-billion-award-couple-with-cancer-million-roundup-lawsuit
|title=Judge cuts $2 billion award for couple with cancer to $86.7 million in Roundup lawsuit |last=Telford |first=Taylor
|date=July 26, 2019 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]
|access-date=July 27, 2019}}</ref>) after finding that the company had failed to adequately inform consumers of the possible carcinogenicity of Roundup.<ref>{{Cite news
|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-13/bayer-loses-its-third-trial-over-claims-roundup-causes-cancer
|title=Bayer's $2 Billion Roundup Damages Boost Pressure to Settle
|newspaper=Bloomberg.com |date=May 13, 2019 |publisher=Bloomberg News |access-date=May 14, 2019}}</ref> On December 19, 2019, it was announced that Timothy Litzenburg, the lawyer for the RoundUp Virginia plaintiffs had been charged with extortion after offering to stop searching for more plaintiffs if he was paid a $200 million consulting fee by a manufacturer of glyphosate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/timothy-litzenburg-former-monsanto-roundup-lawyer-charged-with-extortion/|title=Roundup suit lawyer accused of $200 million extortion plot|website=[[CBS News]] |date=December 18, 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/12976-lawyer-for-roundup-plaintiffs-charged-with-extortion|title = Lawyer for Roundup plaintiffs charged with extortion}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-otc-masstorts/doj-charges-roundup-plaintiffs-lawyer-in-200-million-alleged-extortion-scheme-idUSKBN1YM2L9|title = DOJ charges Roundup plaintiffs' lawyer in $200 million alleged extortion scheme|newspaper = Reuters|date = 19 December 2019}}</ref> Litzenburg and his partner Daniel Kincheloe pleaded guilty to the charges and they were sentenced to two and one years in prison respectively.<ref>{{cite news
   |title=Virginia lawyers get prison terms for $200M Roundup extortion scheme
   |url=https://today.westlaw.com/Document/I50a628d0f9f211eaadd8fa89d4036ae0/View/FullText.html
   |access-date=December 1, 2021 |website=[[Westlaw|Westlaw Today]] |agency=Reuters Legal |date=September 18, 2020}}</ref>

In June 2020, Bayer agreed to settle more than a hundred thousand Roundup lawsuits, agreeing to pay $8.8 to $9.6 billion to settle those claims, and $1.5 billion for any future claims. The settlement does not include three cases that have already gone to jury trials and are being appealed.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/2020/06/24/882949098/bayer-to-pay-more-than-10-billion-to-resolve-roundup-cancer-lawsuits Bayer To Pay More Than $10 Billion To Resolve Cancer Lawsuits Over Weedkiller Roundup]</ref> However the settlement was not allowed to cover future cases.<ref name=":1" />

In the 2020s, facing billions of dollars in more claims, Bayer lobbied the U.S. Congress and state legislatures to change legal standards for pesticide labeling in an attempt to reduce its liability.<ref name="WashPo">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/06/20/bayer-roundup-farm-bill-lobbying/ |title=Bayer lobbies Congress to help fight lawsuits tying Roundup to cancer |date=June 20, 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post |author=Tony Romm}}</ref> {{As of|2024}}, the US EPA planned to reevaluate regulations in 2026.<ref name="WashPo" />

In May 2025, Bayer announced that it was making another push to settle the pending lawsuits and that it would consider a [[Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 11 bankruptcy]] for its Monsanto division if the settlement plan was not successful.<ref name=Ch11>{{Cite web |title=MSN |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/bayer-seeks-new-roundup-settlement-while-exploring-monsanto-bankruptcy/ar-AA1ERE1l |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=www.msn.com}}</ref> The company engaged law firms [[Latham & Watkins]] and [[AlixPartners]] to review its options.<ref name=Ch11/>

===False advertising===
In 1996, Monsanto was accused of false and misleading advertising of glyphosate products, prompting a lawsuit by the New York State attorney general.<ref>{{Cite web |author=mindfully.org |url=http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Monsanto-v-AGNYnov96.htm |title=Attorney General of the State of New York. Consumer Frauds and Protection Bureau. Environmental Protection Bureau. 1996. In the matter of Monsanto Company, respondent. Assurance of discontinuance pursuant to executive law § 63(15). New York, NY, Nov |publisher=Mindfully.org |access-date=2010-08-22 |archive-date=July 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706091235/http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Monsanto-v-AGNYnov96.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Monsanto had made claims that its spray-on glyphosate based herbicides, including Roundup, were safer than table salt and "practically non-toxic" to mammals, birds, and fish, "environmentally friendly", and "biodegradable".<ref name="ap-false">{{cite news |title=Monsanto Agrees to Modify Roundup Ads in New York State 
|author=Talbot, AR  |author2=Shiaw, MH  |author3=Huang, JS  |author4=Yang, SF 
|url=https://www.apnews.com/d196b9a5bb54637a7b281760b0f7a966 |access-date=14 October 2018 | publisher =Associated Press |date=25 November 1996}}</ref> Citing avoidance of costly litigation, Monsanto settled the case, admitting no wrongdoing, and agreeing to remove the offending advertising claims in New York State.<ref name="ap-false" />

Environmental and consumer rights campaigners brought a case in France in 2001 accusing Monsanto of presenting Roundup as "biodegradable" and claiming that it "left the soil clean" after use; glyphosate, Roundup's main ingredient, was classed by the European Union as "dangerous for the environment" and "toxic for aquatic organisms". In January 2007, Monsanto was convicted of false advertising and fined 15,000 euros. The result was confirmed in 2009.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8308903.stm|title=Monsanto guilty in 'false ad' row |date=2009-10-15 |work=BBC News |access-date=2009-10-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2009/10/15/monsanto-definitivement-condamne-pour-publicite-mensongere-a-propos-du-round-up_1254230_3244.html |title=Monsanto définitivement condamné pour "publicité mensongère" à propos du Round Up |language=fr |trans-title=Monsanto finally convicted for 'false advertising' about the Round Up |date=2009-10-15 |newspaper=Le Monde |location=Paris}}</ref>

On 27 March 2020 Bayer settled claims in a proposed class action alleging that it falsely advertised that the active ingredient in Roundup Weed & Grass Killer only affects plants with a $39.5 million deal that included changing the labels on its products.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law360.com/articles/1257915/monsanto-to-pay-39m-in-roundup-false-ad-class-settlement|title=Monsanto To Pay $39M In Roundup False Ad Class Settlement - Law360|website=www.law360.com|language=en|access-date=2020-03-30}}</ref>

In June 2023, Bayer reached a $6.9 million settlement agreement with the New York attorney general, settling false advertising allegations concerning the safety of Roundup.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stempel |first1=Jonathan |title=Bayer reaches $6.9 million settlement with New York over Roundup safety claims |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/bayer-reaches-69-mln-settlement-with-new-york-over-roundup-safety-claims-2023-06-15/ |access-date=21 June 2023 |publisher=Reuters |date=15 June 2023}}</ref>

===Falsification of test results ===
Some tests originally conducted on glyphosate by contractors were later found to have been fraudulent, along with tests conducted on other pesticides. Concerns were raised about toxicology tests conducted by [[Industrial Bio-Test Laboratories]] in the 1970s<ref>{{cite web |publisher=U.S. EPA Office of pesticides and Toxic Substances |date=July 1983 |title=Summary of the IBT review program |url=https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPURL.cgi?Dockey=91014ULV.TXT}}</ref> and [[Craven Laboratories]] was found to have fraudulently analysed samples for residues of glyphosate in 1991.<ref>{{cite news |author=Keith Schneider |work=New York Times |title=U.S. Seeks to Learn if Tests On Pesticides Were Falsified |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/02/us/us-seeks-to-learn-if-tests-on-pesticides-were-falsified.html |access-date=20 September 2018 |date=1991-03-02 |language=en}}</ref> Monsanto has stated that the studies have since been repeated.<ref>{{cite web |work=Backgrounder |title=Testing Fraud: IBT and Craven Labs |date=June 2005 |publisher=Monsanto |url=http://www.monsanto.com/products/Documents/glyphosate-background-materials/ibt_craven_bkg.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101208233014/http://www.monsanto.com/products/Documents/glyphosate-background-materials/ibt_craven_bkg.pdf |archive-date=2010-12-08 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Ban in France===
In January 2019, Roundup Pro 360 was banned in France following a [[Lyon]] court ruling that regulator [[Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail|ANSES]] had not given due weight to safety concerns when they approved the product in March 2017. The ban went into effect immediately.  The court's decision cited research by the [[International Agency for Research on Cancer|IARC]], based in Lyon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20190116-weedkiller-roundup-banned-france-after-court-ruling|title=Weedkiller Roundup banned in France after court ruling|date=2019-01-16|website=France 24|language=en|access-date=2019-01-16}}</ref><ref name=FrenchBan>{{cite news
|newspaper=Reuters |title=French court cancels Monsanto weedkiller permit on safety grounds
|date=January 15, 2019 |access-date=January 16, 2019
|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bayer-monsanto-france/french-court-cancels-monsanto-weedkiller-permit-on-safety-grounds-idUSKCN1P91F6}}</ref>