Bayer Lawsuit Update: Company Requests Judge Reverse $2 Billion Verdict In Roundup Suit

Following the $2 billion verdict against Bayer AG (BAYRY) that found its glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer was responsible for causing cancer in a California couple, the company has asked the judge to reverse the settlement, saying the jury’s decision was not based on evidence.

Bayer filed the motion on Monday, arguing that the significant verdict was “inflammatory, fabricated and irrelevant” based on the evidence provided by the couple’s lawyers. Bayer now faces more than 13,400 plaintiffs in lawsuits claiming its Roundup weed killer caused cancer, Reuters reported. The company denies the claims and said the weed killer’s active ingredient, glyphosate, is safe for human use, the news outlet said.

The California case awarded over $2 billion to a couple that alleges their non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma was caused by using Roundup on their property to kill weeds from 1975 to 2011. The jury gave the couple each $1 billion in punitive damages as well as a combined $55 million in compensatory damages in a seven-week long trial.

The company went on to argue in its complaint that "The resulting trial focused not on ascertaining the truth regarding the state of the science, causation, and compliance with legal duties, but instead on vilifying Monsanto in the abstract.”

Bayer has requested Superior Court Judge Winifred Smith to overrule the decision and either enter a judgment in favor of Bayer or order a new trial. Bayer said in its motion that the punitive damages were excessive and unconstitutional, asking Judge Smith to reduce or toss out the settlement.

Bayer bought Monsanto, the makers of Roundup, in 2018 for $63 billion.

Shares of Bayer stock were up 2.72 percent as of 2:52 p.m. ET on Tuesday.