Supreme Court Will Hear Bayer’s Roundup Liability Case

By Ryan Hanrahan

Progressive Farmer’s Todd Neeley reported that “the U.S. Supreme Court decided Friday it will hear a Bayer Roundup case that could bring product-liability lawsuits to a close on the glyphosate-based weed killer.”

“Bayer argued the Supreme Court should hear Monsanto Company v John L. Durnell to resolve a split among lower courts on whether federal labeling laws preempt state labeling laws, while attorneys for the non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma patient Durnell contended there was not a lower-court split,” Neeley reported. “Last summer the Missouri Court of Appeals joined the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Ninth and 11th circuits and state appellate courts in California and Oregon in holding that federal law does not preempt state laws. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled the opposite in another case, according to Bayer’s filing.”

“Bayer touted the news as an important decision for U.S. agriculture,” Neeley reported. “‘The Supreme Court decision to take the case is good news for U.S. farmers, who need regulatory clarity,’ Bayer CEO Bill Anderson said in a statement. ‘It’s also an important step in our multi-pronged strategy to significantly contain this litigation. It is time for the U.S. legal system to establish that companies should not be punished under state laws for complying with federal warning label requirements.'”

Agri-Pulse’s Steve Davies reported that “the case is expected to draw interest from an array of business, environmental and other groups. No argument date has been set. In a news release, Bayer said it expects a decision by June 2026.”