Bayer has filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court for a final review over a Roundup lawsuit that needs the company to pay a massive amount as a penalty.
The company appealed after a California state court jury favored the lymphoma-diagnosed couple by penalising Bayer to pay $55 million in compensatory damages along with $2 billion in punitive damages. The amount was later reduced to just under $87 million, which included $17 million in compensatory damages and $69 million in punitive damages. An appeals court is yet to review the $25 million judgment in a federal case that went to trial in March 2019.
The state appeals court in California upheld the verdict, and Bayer argued that the entire case should have been pre-empted by federal law as EPA authorized the sale of Roundup. The company has even asked to overturn punitive damages as they are excessive.
Bayer faces tens of thousands of Roundup lawsuits from former Roundup users with allegations that the regular use of the weedkiller resulted in causing lymphoma. The lawsuits even accuse the company of withholding information from the consumers that exposure to Roundup can have harmful consequences on health.
Bayer hopes that the ruling from Justices would halt new cases and end the litigation, but permission for review in a lawsuit from the U.S. Supreme Court is rare.
