Jefferson City, Missouri– There may be a delay in a proposed $7.25 billion settlement covering thousands of claims that the manufacturer of the weed killer Roundup failed to warn people that the product may cause cancer.
An attorney opposing the settlement filed papers Friday to move the case to federal court instead of a Missouri court, where people face a June 4 deadline to opt out of the settlement. Disagreement over who should preside over the proposed settlement could hold up deadlines and delay the decision on whether it should be approved.
The legal controversy revolves around the settlement US Supreme Court She added that the company is studying a case that could prevent thousands of lawsuits filed in state courts against agricultural chemical maker Bayer Roundup of her portfolio when it acquired Missouri-based Monsanto in 2018. Bayer contends that state-level claims that it failed to warn about cancer risks should be banned because it followed federal labeling standards that do not require a warning.
Germany-based Bayer also disputes the assertion that Roundup’s main ingredient, glyphosate, can cause non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The Environmental Protection Agency has determined that Not likely to be carcinogenic For humans when used as directed. But prosecutors point to a 2015 decision by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, which classified the chemical as “probably carcinogenic.”
The case was before the Supreme Court Submitted on behalf of John Durnellwho says he developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma more than 20 years after spraying Roundup in a community garden in St. Louis. Dornel is not included in the proposed class action settlement. But his attorney, Ashley Keller, filed objections to opt out of the settlement on behalf of several other clients before filing a document to transfer the settlement case to federal court.
“This is a massive settlement that eliminates the rights of tens of thousands of cancer victims,” Keller said Friday. “He was transported to state court.”
A move to federal court is sure to face opposition.
Attorney Christopher Seager, who was proposed as the claimants’ representative in the settlement, denounced the court’s change as a “baseless delaying tactic that should be immediately rejected.”
A statement from Bayer said the move had “no merit” and would keep the proceedings in state court.
the The proposed national settlement It was filed in February in St. Louis Circuit Court in Missouri. It is designed to address most of the pending Roundup lawsuits, as well as any additional cases filed in the coming years by people exposed to Roundup. However, if too many claimants opt out, Bayer reserves the right to cancel this.
A hearing on the settlement is scheduled for July 9 in state court. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision in Dornell’s case by the end of June.
The proposed settlement calls for Bayer to make annual payments into a special fund for up to 21 years, totaling up to $7.25 billion. The amount paid to individuals varies depending on how they use Roundup, their age when they are diagnosed, and the severity of their non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
An agricultural, industrial or lawn worker with prolonged exposure to Roundup would receive an average of $165,000 if they were diagnosed with an aggressive form of the disease while they were younger than 60, according to the proposed settlement. But those diagnosed at age 78 or older will receive an average of $10,000.