Supreme Court shuts down thousands of lawsuits that claim Roundup weedkiller might cause cancer
The 7-2 ruling says federal pesticide labels approved by the Environmental Protection Agency block state warning claims, affecting thousands of pending cases.
- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7–2 on Thursday in favor of Monsanto , dealing a massive legal victory to the agrochemical giant by heavily restricting the ability of cancer patients to sue over the weedkiller Roundup.
- The landmark decision establishes that federal regulation overrides state law, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh writing for the majority that because the EPA evaluated glyphosate and explicitly determined it does not require a cancer warning, state-level "failure to warn" lawsuits are legally preempted.
- The ruling severely handicaps a wave of roughly 200,000 product liability claims, shutting the door on tens of thousands of pending lawsuits filed by home users and groundskeepers who allege they developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma from the product.
- The case centered on Missouri resident John Durnell, who was awarded $1.25 million by a state jury in 2023 after using Roundup for over two decades to beautify local parks; Thursday’s high court decision effectively invalidates those state court findings.
- The decision creates a complex political rift for the Trump administration, as the ruling aligns with the administration's business deregulation goals but severely frustrates Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the "Make America Healthy Again" movement, which has fiercely campaigned to outlaw glyphosate.
302 Articles
302 Articles
US Supreme Court sides with Bayer, blocking thousands of Roundup cancer lawsuits
The US Supreme Court on Thursday sided with Bayer in a ruling expected to block thousands of lawsuits claiming its Roundup weedkiller caused cancer by failing to carry adequate warning labels. The decision hands a victory to President Donald Trump's administration but drew backlash from allies in the "Make America Healthy Again" movement.
The US Supreme Court on Thursday sided with the agricultural and gardening herbicide maker Roundup in a ruling that is expected to block thousands of lawsuits alleging the manufacturer failed to warn people that the product could cause cancer.
Supreme Court issues landmark ruling in Roundup labeling case
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a 7-2 ruling Thursday in Durnell v. Roundup, finding that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) preempts state-law failure-to-warn claims when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made a definitive determination regarding a product’s safety. The majority opinion states: “Durnell’s state law failure-to-warn claim would require a cancer warning on Roundup’s label — a requirement…
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