Roundup-Maker May Get New Trial That Could Undermine $250M In Punitive Damages Awarded To Groundskeeper
San Francisco鈥檚 Superior Court of California Judge Suzanne Bolanos issued a tentative motion granting Bayer a new trial. Her ruling calls into question the bulk of the $289 million judgment, the first in thousands of cases alleging that glyphosate, the main ingredient in Bayer鈥檚 Roundup herbicide, causes cancer.
Bayer AG's Monsanto unit received a tentative ruling for a new trial on the $250 million in punitive damages awarded by a jury to a groundskeeper who alleged the company's glyphosate-based weed killers, including Roundup, caused his cancer. According to a Wednesday court filing in San Francisco's Superior Court of California, Judge Suzanne Bolanos was considering whether to grant the company's motion for a new trial on the punitive damages. (Christie and Burger, 10/10)
If finalized, Judge Suzanne Ramos Bolanos鈥檚 ruling would grant a motion by Bayer arguing that sum wasn鈥檛 justified and that the evidence didn鈥檛 prove the company intended to harm the plaintiff. It isn鈥檛 clear when the judge may finalize the ruling, issued ahead of a court hearing Wednesday. (Bunge, 10/10)
