The chemicals company Bayer hopes for a speedy resolution of US action on the alleged cancer risks of the glyphosate herbicide Roundup has diminished. The first draft of the Settlement failed due to concerns of US Judge Vince Chhabria. He’s now cleared his doubts about an improved version – even before Wednesday’s important court session.
Specifically, it is about a settlement project on how to handle future glyphosate lawsuits in the USA. The compromise is part of a settlement with plaintiffs, which cost Bayer more than $ 11 billion in total, ending the great legal uncertainty surrounding glyphosate.
Leverkusen-based pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals group negotiated legal disputes over glyphosate with the acquisition of $ 1 billion for the US seed giant Monsanto in 2018. Bayer hopes that Chhabria can quickly settle to close the numerous lawsuits related to glyphosate in the United States. Numerous national proceedings were collected in the Federal Judge’s Court in San Francisco. This is why the decision has major implications.
But court documents released on Tuesday show that Chhabria is fiercely critical of the new solution. The judge still doubts the deal is in the plaintiffs’ best interest. In particular, Bayer’s plan to create an independent scientific committee to deal with future glyphosate lawsuits still leaves the judge skeptical. Chhabria once again raised the question of why this should be in the best interest of the plaintiffs. All previous glyphosate processes in the United States – without such an object – worked in their favor. Recently, a San Francisco court awarded a cancer patient $ 25 million in damages.
In order for Bayer to finally resolve the legal issues seized from Monsanto in the USA, Chhabria will first have to give his initial approval of the settlement as a first step. But even if the judge hears convincing arguments on Wednesday, that will still require some patience. Because in view of the complex situation, the details of the solution should not be discussed at all at the present time. Chhabria has already announced that he is planning another hearing to address “many smaller issues”.