Monsanto Loses $80 Million on Roundup Cancer Trial

A federal jury in California has awarded $80 million to a man who said Monsanto herbicide Roundup was a “substantial factor” in him developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma, CNN reported on Wednesday. It’s a major blow to the chemical manufacturer and its parent company, German chemical giant Bayer AG, which are facing hundreds of lawsuits related to the glyphosate-based herbicide in San Francisco.

In the first phase of the trial, which concluded on March 20, the jury found that plaintiff Edwin Hardeman’s cancer was likely due to Roundup exposure. In the second phase that ended this week, the jury found Hardeman proved in court that Monsanto released Roundup with a defective design, then was negligent in its responsibility to provide adequate warning about potential health risks. According to the lawsuit, Hardeman said he had used Roundup on his property for over 20 years before he was diagnosed with cancer in 2015. $75 million of the $80 million jury award is punitive.