Bayer slips in Frankfurt, US Supreme Court divisions over glyphosate 'affair' weigh in

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Bayer penalised on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange after the US Supreme Court heard the group's appeal related to the multibillion-dollar Roundup herbicide litigation. The hearing, which took place on Monday, revealed differences of opinion among the judges. The stock dropped almost three points, sliding as low as EUR 35.89 in the opening stages. In essence, the court must decide whether, with regard to warnings about the risks associated with herbicides, US federal law overrides that of individual states, as the company claims.

Bayer hopes that a favourable ruling will allow much of the costly dossier to be dismissed. Specifically, the judges are reviewing Bayer's appeal of a Missouri ruling that ordered the company to pay $1.25 million to plaintiff John Durnell, based on that state's regulations. Durnell claims he developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after years of exposure to Roundup, Bayer's glyphosate-based herbicide.

At the centre of the controversy is the federal Fifra law governing the sale and labelling of pesticides. Bayer points out that the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has repeatedly concluded that glyphosate is not carcinogenic and has approved product labels without specific warnings. The agrochemical and pharmaceutical giant's lawyer Paul Clement argued that federal law should prevail over claims based on state law. "A Missouri jury imposed a cancer risk warning that the EPA does not require," Clement told the Supreme Court. However, the nine justices expressed differing opinions during the hearing.

Conservative Judge Neil Gorsuch questioned why state-level lawsuits should necessarily contradict federal law. Chief Justice John Robert emphasised that gstates must have the ability to react to new potential risks while federal authorities pursue investigations. "If 50 different states act independently, Iowa saying it could cause cancer, California saying it definitely causes cancer, and another state saying the opposite, forcing you to put all the information on the label, that completely undermines the uniformity of the labels," Justice Department lawyer Sarah Harris said by contrast.

Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Elena Kagan also expressed concern about regulatory fragmentation. Bayer said he welcomed the Court's careful consideration of the issue of regulatory uniformity and the supremacy of federal law. The Court will rule by the end of June. A ruling in Bayer's favour could mark a turning point in the wave of litigation inherited in 2018 with the $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto. Bayer CEO Bill Anderson has set a goal of significantly reducing these lawsuits by the end of 2026. In February, Bayer also initiated a new global settlement agreement worth up to $7.25 billion to resolve tens of thousands of current and future disputes.