Delays could be in store for a proposed $7.25 billion settlement of lawsuits in Missouri involving Roundup weedkiller claims, after an attorney filed paperwork seeking to shift the case to federal court. The dispute centers on who should oversee the settlement, and it could affect deadlines for people to opt out of the proposed deal.
The settlement was filed in February in St. Louis Circuit Court in Missouri and is designed to resolve thousands of Roundup-related cancer claims, according to a proposed nationwide resolution framework. Under the terms described in court filings, a Missouri deadline for people to opt out of the settlement is set for June 4, and any shift in jurisdiction could disrupt those deadlines, potentially delaying whether the settlement is approved.
The attorney who opposed the settlement asked for the matter to be moved to federal court instead of remaining in Missouri state court. The move was framed as part of a broader disagreement over how the settlement should be handled procedurally, with the attorney filing on Friday as the deadline for claimants approached.
Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018 and now markets Roundup, said it would work to keep the proceedings in state court and issued a response denying that the shift request has merit. Bayer has argued that the state-level claims against it should be barred because it followed federal labeling standards that do not require a warning about cancer risks, and it also disputes plaintiffs’ assertions about glyphosate, Roundup’s key ingredient.
The Roundup cancer litigation also overlaps with a separate legal fight now before the U.S. Supreme Court. That case is expected to address whether thousands of lawsuits filed in state courts can proceed, and the Supreme Court’s consideration comes as the settlement negotiations continue on a parallel track.
The Supreme Court case was filed on behalf of John Durnell, who said he developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma after more than 20 years of spraying Roundup on a community garden in St. Louis. Durnell is not covered by the proposed class-action settlement, but his attorney’s actions and the parallel case at the highest court are part of the environment shaping how quickly settlement questions may be resolved.
Ashley Keller, an attorney associated with objections and an opt-out effort, said the settlement was “a huge settlement that is extinguishing the rights of tens of thousands of cancer victims,” adding, “It was rushed in to state court.” Keller’s challenge included filing objections opting out of the settlement on behalf of other clients and also filing a document seeking to shift the case to federal court.
Christopher Seeger, who is proposed as a claimants’ representative in the settlement, denounced the proposed shift as “a baseless delay tactic that should be promptly denied.” Bayer’s position was that the move “has no merit,” and it said it would work to keep the proceedings in state court.
The proposed settlement calls for Bayer to make annual payments into a special fund for up to 21 years, totaling as much as $7.25 billion, with payout amounts varying based on how people used Roundup, their age when diagnosed and the severity of their non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The proposal described average payments of $165,000 for agricultural, industrial or turf workers diagnosed with an aggressive form while younger than age 60, and $10,000 on average for those diagnosed at age 78 or older.
A hearing on the settlement is scheduled for July 9 in state court. The Supreme Court, meanwhile, is expected to issue a decision in Durnell’s case by the end of June, while claimants continue to weigh the June 4 opt-out deadline amid the procedural fight over where the settlement will be administered.
As the jurisdiction dispute plays out, Bayer’s settlement proposal also includes contingencies tied to opt-outs. The company reserved the right to cancel the settlement if too many claimants opt out of the proposed deal, making the interplay between deadlines and court oversight a central factor in whether the settlement moves forward on schedule.