September 14, 2020 — Bayer has made final settlement terms with three major law firms representing thousands of plaintiffs involved in the Roundup litigation. All three firms filed notification of the terms with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where the Roundup MDL is taking place, on September 14, 2020. Making final settlement terms marks a crucial step in completing the Roundup mass tort litigation that has taken place for five years.
Bayer has been challenged by trying to figure out how to manage Roundup claims that could arise in the future. The company sought court approval for a plan that would delay the filing of Roundup cases for four years. The plan also would have established a five-member “science panel” to determine if Roundup can cause non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and if so, at what exposure levels. If the science panel found that Roundup did not cause cancer, then future claims would be barred. Bayer’s plan was rejected by U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria.
Bayer said that it was making progress in making a “revised” plan also on September 14. According to the company, the details of the revised plan will be finalized in the coming weeks.
Numerous plaintiffs have not been satisfied with their settlements, disheartened that they will not receive a substantial award when compared to their expensive treatments and continued suffering that Roundup has caused. Some plaintiffs have even died while waiting for a settlement, such as Marie Bernice Dinner. Dinner died on June 2 from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that she and her husband, Bruce Dinner, alleged was the result of Monsanto’s glyphosate-based herbicides. Lawyers for the Dinners filed notice with the court of Marie’s death on September 9, asking for the ability to amend their claims against Monsanto so that they could add a claim for wrongful death.
Reference: “Monsanto Roundup & Dicamba Trial Tracker.” U.S. Right to Know, 2 June 2020, https://usrtk.org/monsanto-roundup-trial-tracker-index/
