The fourth trial against Bayer is all set to begin in St. Louis on August 19, over a claim filed by a plaintiff, who alleged 14 years of Roundup exposure led to her diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. There are more than 10,000 similar claims that are currently pending in St. Louis, where juries often hit companies with huge damages.
Bayer has recruited four Missouri-based expert witnesses to make a strong stand as it has century-old roots in St. Louis. On July 16, Bayer announced it would create an additional 500 “high-paying” jobs in the St. Louis area, which some legal experts believe the company is trying to secure a favorable Roundup verdict by emphasizing its reputation as a major local employer. Bayer has been hit with massive verdicts in the first three Roundup trials after finding that the defendants knew about the Roundup cancer risks yet failed to warn consumers.
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria is presiding over more than 15,000 Roundup lawsuits consolidated under multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 2741; In Re: Roundup Products Liability Litigation) in the Northern District of California.
