Bayer's $7.25B Class Action Settlement Resolves Monsanto Glyphosate Cases

Berlin — German pharmaceutical and agrochemical giant Bayer has reached a $7.25 billion class action settlement in the United States to resolve lawsuits relating to the weedkiller Roundup.

The payments stretch over a period of up to 21 years, the Leverkusen-based company said on Tuesday.

The settlement - which must be approved by a court in St Louis, Missouri - "provides an essential path out of the litigation uncertainty," said Bayer chief executive Bill Anderson.

A large number of lawsuits have been weighing on Bayer's balance sheet for years. They are largely legacy issues from the 2018 acquisition of US competitor Monsanto. 

In the US lawsuits, plaintiffs attributed cancer to glyphosate. A panel of the World Health Organization (WHO) classified the active ingredient contained in the weedkiller Roundup as "probably carcinogenic to humans."

Several European institutions did not follow suit. Glyphosate manufacturer Bayer also rejects the argument that the weed killer is carcinogenic. 

The group's total provisions and liabilities for legal disputes are expected to increase from €7.8 billion ($9.2 billion) to €11.8 billion as a result of the class action settlement.

In addition, the Monsanto subsidiary has agreed to further confidential settlements to resolve other glyphosate cases, according to the group. 

Monsanto also settled eight remaining judgements earlier this year in connection with the environmental chemical PCB at the Sky Valley Education Centre in the US state of Washington. The terms of these settlements are also confidential.

The glyphosate settlement agreements followed the US Supreme Court's decision to accept the case of plaintiff John Durnell for review.

Bayer said that the expectation that the Supreme Court might review the question of the primacy of federal law in lawsuits alleging a lack of warning labels made the settlement negotiations possible in the first place.

The company hopes to gain momentum from the review by the US Supreme Court. The legal case is unaffected by the settlement and is important for overturning significant damages awards that are still pending appeal and are not covered by the class action settlement, Bayer explained.

"This litigation and the resulting cost underscore the need for guidance from the Supreme Court on clear regulation in American agriculture," said Anderson. "The class settlement and Supreme Court case are both necessary to help bring the strongest, most certain and most timely containment to this litigation."

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