The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Monsanto in a lawsuit over the company’s herbicide Roundup. The court decided 7-2 that the lawsuit should have been barred because the federal government does not require a cancer warning on the label.

Background of the Case

The lawsuit was filed by John Durnell, a Missouri man who claimed that his exposure to Roundup caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma. A jury had awarded Durnell $1.25 million, but the Supreme Court’s decision overturns that verdict.

Monsanto, which was purchased by Bayer in 2018, has maintained that the active ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, does not cause cancer. The company argued that a federal law, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, preempted the state law claims.

Implications of the Decision

The decision could have implications for thousands of other lawsuits that have been filed against Monsanto over its weedkiller. The company has removed glyphosate from the consumer version of its product, but it remains the central ingredient in industrial versions widely used by farmers.

Business groups, including the Chamber of Commerce, had warned that if the Supreme Court sided with Durnell, it would open other industries that are subject to similar federal requirements to lawsuits.

Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.