Bayer proposes $7.25 billion settlement to resolve Roundup cancer lawsuits

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Bayer and attorneys for cancer patients announced a proposed $7.25 billion settlement on Tuesday intended to resolve thousands of U.S. lawsuits alleging the company failed to warn that Roundup, a widely used weedkiller, could cause cancer. The proposal, announced in Jefferson City, Missouri, comes as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to consider arguments in April in a dispute over whether federal approval of Roundup by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should bar certain state failure-to-warn lawsuits. The proposed settlement, however, was described as separate from the Supreme Court case.

Bayer said the settlement would reduce uncertainty as litigation continues. Bayer CEO Bill Anderson said Tuesday, “Litigation uncertainly has plagued the company for years, and this settlement gives the company a road to closure.” The company also said its ability to continue selling the product in U.S. agricultural markets has been threatened by mounting legal costs, and it disputes the allegation that Roundup’s key ingredient, glyphosate, can cause non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

The settlement plan was filed in St. Louis Circuit Court in Missouri, where many of the suits have been brought and where Bayer’s North America crop science division is located. Under the proposed terms, Bayer would make annual payments into a special fund for up to 21 years, with total payments “as much as $7.25 billion.” The proposal’s final structure still depends on court approval.

The settlement documents described a large universe of claims. About 200,000 Roundup-related claims have been made against Bayer, including more than 125,000 plaintiffs who sued since 2015, according to the court filings. The filing said few cases have gone to jurors, with 13 verdicts for Bayer and 11 for plaintiffs, including a $2.1 billion award by a Georgia jury last year. The documents also cited prior resolutions through separate settlements, including two recent ones that were described as addressing about 77,000 claims.

The proposed national settlement is designed to address most remaining lawsuits and any additional cases brought in the future by people exposed to Roundup before Tuesday, the filing said. Bayer said it reserves the right to cancel the proposed settlement if too many plaintiffs opt out, though it did not specify how many opt-outs would trigger cancellation. Attorneys for claimants said they expect many of their clients to consider opting out.

Attorney Christopher Seeger, who said he would represent current claimants under the settlement, said, “No settlement can erase a diagnosis, but this agreement is designed to ensure that both today’s and tomorrow’s patients have access to meaningful compensation.” Attorney Matt Clement, who represents about 280 plaintiffs, said he was surprised by the proposal and expected many clients to opt out. Clement said the proposed payouts “are exceedingly too small.”

The deal’s projected payout ranges would vary based on the type of Roundup exposure, age at diagnosis, and illness severity. The settlement documents described an average payment of $165,000 for an agricultural, industrial or turf worker exposed at length who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma while younger than age 60. They also described an average of $20,000 for a residential Roundup user diagnosed between ages 60 and 77 with a less aggressive form, and an average of $10,000 for those diagnosed at age 78 or older.

Bayer’s legal position in the Supreme Court dispute centers on federal pesticide approval and preemption of state-law claims. The company has said the EPA’s approval of Roundup without a cancer warning should invalidate failure-to-warn claims filed in state courts. The EPA has said Roundup is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans when used as directed, and the federally approved label includes no cancer warning, the Associated Press reported.

Bayer’s approach to Roundup has differed by market. The company has stopped using glyphosate in Roundup sold in the U.S. residential lawn and garden market, but glyphosate remains in agricultural products that are intended to be used with genetically modified seeds resistant to the weedkiller. The Supreme Court case described in Tuesday’s announcement was linked to a Missouri lawsuit involving a man who developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma after spraying Roundup on a community garden in St. Louis, where the underlying state case had resulted in a $1.25 million award.

The announcement also came amid federal political support for Bayer’s preemption arguments. The Associated Press reported that President Donald Trump’s administration weighed in on Bayer’s behalf, reversing the position of former President Joe Biden’s administration. The report said the stance aligned with some supporters of the Make America Healthy Again agenda who oppose giving the company the legal immunity it seeks. Meanwhile, Bayer is also lobbying state legislatures to shield pesticide manufacturers from state failure-to-warn lawsuits when their products follow federal labeling, the report said, citing North Dakota’s law enacted last April and Georgia’s law enacted in May.