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Supreme Court split over Bayer’s fight against Roundup lawsuits - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Supreme Court split over Bayer’s fight against Roundup lawsuits Asbestos & Environmental Apr 27, 2026 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court appeared divided on Monday over Bayer’s effort to shut down thousands of lawsuits accusing the company of failing to warn users that the active ingredient in its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer. The justices heard arguments in the German drugmaking and crop science company’s appeal of a jury verdict in Missouri state court awarding $1.25 million to a man named John Durnell who said he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after years of exposure to glyphosate in Roundup. Paul Clement, arguing for Bayer, told the justices that federal law governing pesticides should prevent failure-to-warn claims like Mr. Durnell’s that are brought under state law from moving forward in court. Bayer has said that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has repeatedly found that glyphosate does not cause cancer and approved its product labels without a warning. “A Missouri jury imposed a cancer-warning requirement that (the) EPA does not require. That additional requirement is preempted,” Mr. Clement said. Mr. Clement warned against allowing a patchwork of standards across the United States. “Congress plainly wanted uniformity when it came to the safety warnings on a pesticide’s label. Ignoring Congress’ clear direction here would open the door for crippling liability and undermine the interests of farmers who depend on federally registered pesticides for their livelihood,” Mr. Clement said. More than 100,000 plaintiffs have filed cases in U.S. state and federal courts alleging a cancer link, according to Bayer. It has said a Supreme Court ruling in its favor should largely bring the Roundup litigation to an end. A U.S. law called the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, or FIFRA, governs the sale and labeling of pesticides and bars states from imposing differing or additional requirements. It prohibits pesticides that are “misbranded” with labels that lack an adequate warning to protect health and the environment. Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch pressed Mr. Clement on why state court lawsuits are necessarily at odds with the federal regulatory scheme. “If supposing that (the) EPA can bring a claim against you for misbranding and seek criminal and civil penalties despite a properly registered item, how would it be inconsistent with FIFRA to allow state tort suits to do the same thing?” Justice Gorsuch asked. Republican President Donald Trump’s administration sided with Bayer in the case. Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts asked Sarah Harris, a Justice Department lawyer arguing for the administration, whether states have any legal recourse if new information of harm comes to light while federal regulators weigh whether to provide new guidance. Ms. Harris underscored the problem with departing from a national standard. “If you had 50 different states that are just like jumping the gun – Iowa says maybe this causes cancer, California says (it) absolutely causes cancer, some other state says this doesn’t cause cancer at all, so put that on your label too – it completely undermines the uniformity of the labeling,” Ms. Harris said. “I appreciate that,” Chief Justice Roberts responded. “On the other hand, if it turns out that they were right, it might have been good if they had an opportunity to do something to call this danger to the attention of the people while the federal government was going through its process.” Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh and liberal Justice Elena Kagan appeared concerned about the problem of a patchwork system. “You have a preemption provision that’s … clearly designed to achieve uniformity in labeling,” Justice Kagan told Ashley Keller, a lawyer for Mr. Durnell. “What uniformity would your regime achieve?” Justice Kagan added, “It seems here as though there’s a pretty big delegation of power to (the) EPA to figure all these matters out.” Bayer acquired Roundup as part of its $63 billion purchase of agrochemical company Monsanto in 2018. The torrent of litigation prompted Bayer to remove glyphosate from its consumer version of Roundup, and the company said that the lawsuits could threaten its ability to supply the herbicide to farmers. Facing billions of dollars in potential liability, Bayer announced in February a proposed $7.25 billion settlement to resolve tens of thousands of current and future lawsuits. The settlement would not affect claims that stem from pending appeals or that fall outside the deal, according to Bayer. Those amount to nearly $1 billion, it said. Mr. Durnell was diagnosed with a rare and often aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer that starts in the white blood cells, and attributed the disease to his exposure to Roundup starting in 1996. For about 20 years, he was the “spray guy” for a neighborhood association in St. Louis, killing weeds at local parks without protective equipment, according to court papers. A jury sided with Mr. Durnell in 2023. A state appeals court upheld that verdict in 2025. The Supreme Court is expected to rule by the end of June. Related News Medtronic says cyberattack has not disrupted operations April 27, 2026 Jury must decide D&O claim dispute, judge rules April 27, 2026 Court bars injured worker’s claim against Second Injury Fund after settlement April 27, 2026 WTW names former Newfront execs to AI leadership roles April 27, 2026 Texas to audit topical drug prescriptions in comp April 27, 2026 Monte Paschi sets conditions for Generali stake sale April 27, 2026 Insurers require Iran coordination for Hormuz cover April 27, 2026 Suncorp locks in additional $574M reinsurance cover April 27, 2026 Oil shock hits India, Philippines, Thailand April 27, 2026 Facebook-f X-twitter Linkedin-in Business Insurance is a singular, authoritative news and information source for executives focused upon risk management, risk transfer and risk financing. 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