By Adria Calatayud and Helena Smolak, Dow Jones
Bayer shares fell sharply after the company was ordered to pay $2.1 billion by a jury in a Georgia state court, the latest legal defeat for the company in a case about its Roundup weedkiller.
The German agricultural and pharmaceutical group said the jury in a trial in the State Court of Cobb County, Georgia, on Friday reached a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. The verdict includes $2 billion in punitive damages and $65 million in compensatory damages, the company said.
Shares in Bayer were down 6.6% at 22.48 euros in European morning trade Monday, having fallen as much as 8.8% earlier. The stock is up about 16% since the start of the year, amid a rally in German shares.
“We disagree with the jury’s verdict, as it conflicts with the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence and the consensus of regulatory bodies and their scientific assessments worldwide,” Bayer said. “We believe that we have strong arguments on appeal to get this verdict overturned and the excessive and unconstitutional damage awards eliminated or reduced.”
The company said damages in cases that reached final judgments were reduced by 90% overall compared with the original jury awards.
The company has so far paid around $10 billion to settle disputed claims, a spokesman said. Around 67,000 cases were still pending at the end of January and the company set aside $5.9 billion to cover glyphosate litigations, according to its annual report.
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