Statement on Womack
The following is Monsanto’s statement on the verdict in the Womack Roundup personal injury trial in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas (PCCP), which found in favor of the company:
“The jury’s verdict in favor of the company marks the 15th favorable outcome in the last 22 trials and validates the company’s strategy of taking cases to trial based on strong scientific and regulatory evidence. The verdict also marks the company’s third trial victory in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and is consistent with the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence and the consensus of regulatory bodies and their scientific assessments worldwide supporting the safety of glyphosate-based herbicides. While we have great sympathy for anyone who suffers a loss or injury, the science proves that Roundup™ is safe to use and not carcinogenic.
The company maintains that the cross-cutting state-based failure to warn claim in this and other cases in the Roundup™ litigation is preempted by federal law consistent with the Schaffner decision by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. This decision created a circuit split within the federal appellate courts that warrants review by the U.S. Supreme Court. The company is currently evaluating the cases which would present the best opportunity for review and will file a petition for certiorari in or before 2025, and if granted, the Supreme Court would decide the case during its 2025-2026 session.
We continue to stand fully behind the safety of Roundup™ products - critical tools that farmers rely on to produce affordable food and feed the world.”
Background
Bayer has had favorable outcomes in fifteen of the last twenty-two cases, including Clark, Stephens, Shelton, Alesi, Ferro, Gordon, Evard, McCostlin, Jones, Cloud, Meyer, Cody, Kline, Young, and Womack.
In July 2024, a judge in the Federal Court of Australia, with the aid of a neutral, court-appointed scientific expert and following a scientific conclave process, found in a detailed 322-page opinion that the weight of scientific evidence does not support a link between glyphosate and NHL and dismissed the case.
The company is also pursuing legislative solutions at the state and federal levels with support from many others in the agricultural community that would clarify or reinforce the label uniformity provision of federal law (FIFRA) that is designed to keep labels on federally registered pesticides like Roundup consistent across the country. Without reform, the U.S. risks the availability of a crop protection tool that has consistently been found to be safe by regulatory bodies worldwide. By allowing this misapplication of the law to persist, our nation is needlessly driving up the cost of food and threatening its supply.