Environmental Regulation and Liability

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear Bayer’s appeal in a Missouri Roundup case, a move that could determine whether Environmental Protection Agency approval of the weedkiller’s label blocks thousands of state lawsuits alleging the company failed to warn users about cancer risks. The justices will decide if EPA’s decision to approve glyphosate products without a cancer warning label preempts state failure‑to‑warn claims, after lower courts split and a Missouri jury awarded $1.25 million to a man who developed non‑Hodgkin’s lymphoma from spraying Roundup in a St. Louis community garden. The Trump administration has reversed the Biden administration’s stance and filed in support of Bayer, aligning with the company’s argument that it should not be punished under state law for following federal labeling requirements. Bayer, which faces about 181,000 Roundup claims and has set aside $16 billion for settlements, has already pulled glyphosate from U.S. residential Roundup but continues to sell it for agricultural use tied to genetically modified crops, and warns it may exit the U.S. farm market if litigation continues. Environmental and consumer groups say Bayer is turning to the high court because it keeps losing before juries and fear a broad ruling could sharply curtail Americans’ ability to sue over pesticides even when new health evidence emerges.