By Jonathan Stempel, Reuters
Bayer (BAYGn.DE), won a legal victory in its fight to limit liability from claims that its Roundup weed killer causes cancer, as a U.S. appeals court on Thursday said federal law shields the German company from a lawsuit by a Pennsylvania landscaper.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia rejected plaintiff David Schaffner’s claim that Bayer’s Monsanto unit violated state law by failing to put a cancer warning on the label for Roundup.
Schaffner was diagnosed in 2006 with a kind of cancer called non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a common claim for Roundup plaintiffs. He and his wife Theresa sued Bayer in 2019, in part over how his illness affected their relationship.
Chief Judge Michael Chagares wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act requires nationwide uniformity in pesticide labels, and prevented Pennsylvania from adding a cancer warning.
Bayer said the decision conflicts with rulings from federal appeals courts in San Francisco and Atlanta in similar cases. That may increase the prospect that the U.S. Supreme Court could step in to resolve the split, and potentially reduce Bayer’s liabilities.
Bayer shares, which have been weighed down for years by the litigation risk, were indicated 2.6% higher in Friday premarket trade at brokerage Lang & Schwarz.
Chip Becker, a lawyer for the Schaffners, said he was disappointed with the decision, and that federal law should not preempt his clients’ failure-to-warn claim. He said the Schaffners are reviewing their legal options.
Bayer said it was pleased with the decision, and the Supreme Court should “settle this important issue of law.” It has maintained that Roundup and its active ingredient glyphosate are safe, and said it “continues to stand fully behind” the brand.
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