Bayer's Monsanto Seeks $7.25 Billion Roundup Settlement Approval in Missouri
Missouri Court Hears Arguments on Roundup Settlement Proposal
By Dietrich Knauth
Sept 14 (Reuters) - Bayer's Monsanto unit urged a Missouri judge on Monday to approve its $7.25 billion proposed settlement of lawsuits alleging that its weedkiller Roundup causes cancer, saying there is no other way to resolve the litigation that has weighed on the German company for years.
The company is attempting to settle nearly all existing and future Roundup cancer claims in the United States through a new class action filed in Missouri in February. Judge Timothy Boyer heard arguments from supporters and opponents of the proposed deal at a hearing in St. Louis.
Bayer denies that Roundup causes cancer, and Monsanto attorney James Bennett told the judge that the company is prepared to fight the lawsuits in court if the deal is rejected.
"This is the settlement," Bennett said at Monday's court hearing. "There is not another settlement."
Boyer largely listened without asking questions during the hearing and did not indicate when he would rule. He invited supporters and opponents of the deal to submit additional filings by the end of the week before he decides whether to approve it.
"This proceeding in the courtroom is about the tens of thousands of people whose lives have been affected by this case, who have been affected and will be affected by this settlement," Boyer said. "It's not about one judge in one courtroom pontificating or asking questions or making quips, so I wanted the focus today to be on those people and the attorneys that are here to represent them."
In a statement after the hearing, Bayer's Monsanto unit said the settlement is fair, has broad support among plaintiffs' lawyers, and warrants final approval by the court.
Support and Opposition to the Settlement
Supporters Make Their Case
SUPPORTERS MAKE THEIR CASE
The judge heard from several attorneys who spoke up in favor of the settlement, including class-action lawyers who negotiated the deal and some who initially opposed it.
Hunter Shkolnik, an attorney whose firm represents 3,000 Roundup plaintiffs, told Boyer that 800 or 900 of those clients initially wanted to opt out of the deal, but reconsidered and decided to opt back into the settlement after the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Monsanto on a key legal issue in June.
Shkolnik said the Supreme Court's ruling, which cut off claims that Roundup's label should have warned consumers about the weedkiller's cancer risks, dealt a major blow to many of the cases.
Objections and Concerns
Objectors have argued that the settlement does not offer enough money, and they say their clients should not be pushed into Bayer's proposed framework.
Settlement Payouts and Eligibility
The proposed settlement offers payouts ranging from $10,000 to $165,000 to people who were exposed to Roundup and developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a form of cancer. The exact award will depend on factors such as the severity of the person's cancer, how old they were when they were diagnosed, and whether they were exposed to Roundup at home or at work.
T. Roe Frazer, an attorney opposing the settlement, argued that the proposed payouts are inadequate, noting that individual claimants would receive no more than $165,000 and that few would qualify for the highest award. Frazer also said the settlement does not reflect the potential scope of future claims because Roundup remains on the market and studies suggest that 80% of Americans have been exposed to glyphosate, Roundup's key ingredient.
"Even though $7.25 billion looks like a lot of money, it's just not enough," Frazer said. "It can't be."
Additional Objections
Other objectors challenged other aspects of the proposal, including its treatment of future claimants who do not have cancer, its attempt to bind residents of other states, and the $675 million in attorneys' fees sought by the lawyers who negotiated the settlement.
Litigation Overhang and Bayer's Position
LITIGATION OVERHANG
Bayer is facing approximately 65,000 claims in U.S. state and federal courts from plaintiffs who say they developed cancer after using Roundup at home or on the job.
The litigation has weighed on Bayer since its 2018 acquisition of Monsanto, costing the company billions of dollars and driving down its share price. The company previously spent about $10 billion in 2020 to resolve most of the then-existing Roundup lawsuits, but Bayer was unable to get court approval of a parallel $1.25 billion settlement that would have resolved future Roundup claims.
Bayer has denied the claims and said that decades of studies have shown glyphosate is safe and does not cause cancer.
(Reporting by Dietrich Knauth; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Will Dunham and Franklin Paul)
