Thursday, June 25, 2020

Bayer to settle, for more than $10 billion, cases alleging Roundup-cancer link, dicamba crop damage and more

"Bayer will pay more than $10 billion to end tens of thousands of lawsuits filed over its Roundup weedkiller, the company announced Wednesday. The settlement also resolves many other cases over the herbicide dicamba as well as water contaminated with toxic chemicals called PCBs," Bill Chappell reports for NPR. "Many plaintiffs say Roundup's active ingredient — glyphosate — caused them to develop cancer. Roundup was developed by Monsanto, which Bayer bought in 2018 for $63 billion."

The settlement, parts of which are pending court approval, doesn't cover three cases that have already gone to trial, including the case in which a jury awarded a Missouri peach farmer $265 million. "The settlement calls for Bayer to pay from $8.8 billion to $9.6 billion to resolve current Roundup lawsuits. The company will also set aside $1.25 billion to fund payouts for potential claims in the future," Chappell reports.

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