Bayer wins Arkansas trial over Roundup cancer claims

By Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) -Bayer on Friday evening won a trial in a lawsuit brought by the family of an Arkansas woman who says she developed cancer from exposure to Roundup, one of thousands of lawsuits the German company is facing over the weedkiller, while another trial ended with a hung jury earlier in the day.

A jury in the Circuit Court of Conway County found that Bayer (ETR:BAYGN) was not responsible for the cancer that killed Wanda Cody, who used Roundup at her place of business, the company said.

Lawyers for Cody's family, who sued Bayer, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The verdict came hours after Delaware Superior Court Judge Vivian Medinilla declared a mistrial in a separate case brought by the family of deceased South Carolina groundskeeper Anthony Cloud. Jurors in that case had said they could not agree on a verdict after more than three days of deliberations.

A lawyer for the Cloud family could not immediately be reached for comment. The family can still pursue another trial.

Around 165,000 claims have been made in the U.S. against Bayer for personal injuries allegedly caused by Roundup, which the company acquired as part of its $63 billion purchase of U.S. agrochemical company Monsanto (NYSE:MON) in 2018.

Most plaintiffs, including Cloud's and Cody's families, allege that the product caused a type of cancer called non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Bayer has said that decades of studies have shown Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate, are safe for human use.

Roundup is among the most widely used weedkillers in the United States, though Bayer phased out its sales for home use last year.

Bayer has now won 11 of the last 18 Roundup trials, but plaintiffs have scored large verdicts totaling more than $4 billion, including $2.25 billion in a single case in January.

The company is appealing those verdicts, which include large punitive damages awards that are likely to be reduced because they exceed U.S. Supreme Court guidance.

The losses have led some investors to question Bayer's legal strategy in defending the Roundup cases, though the company has so far held firm that it will fight them in court.

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In 2020, Bayer settled most of the then-pending Roundup cases for up to $9.6 billion but failed to get a settlement covering future cases. More than 50,000 claims remain pending, and at least 10 additional Roundup trials are expected later this year.