SAN FRANCISCO—Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision in the appeal of Hardeman v. Monsanto, affirming a lower court's decision that resulted in a $80 million verdict against chemical giant Monsanto (since acquired by Bayer), on behalf of Edwin Hardeman, a California man who developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after decades of exposure to Monsanto's best-selling weedkiller, Roundup. 

Diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in February 2015, Mr. Hardeman used Roundup for more than two decades to kill poison oak and other weeds on his 56-acre property. He sued Monsanto, alleging the company knew or should have known of the risks its herbicide posed to users, but did not provide adequate warnings about these harms. Mr. Hardeman's case was one of the first in a series of high-profile consumer lawsuits filed against Monsanto-Bayer. In June 2020, Bayer announced several massive legal settlements totaling over $10 billion to compensate those harmed by its products. 

Center for Food Safety filed an amicus brief in support of Mr. Hardeman's appeal in March 2020. 

Statements from George Kimbrell, legal director at Center for Food Safety: 

"The reckoning for Roundup rolls on and today's victory is a major one for all those who care about protecting human health and the environment and holding corporations accountable for the harm they cause. We are gratified that the Ninth Circuit unanimously rejected Monsanto's arguments that Mr. Hardeman and thousands of others harmed by their products are prohibited by federal law from suing to redress their injuries. The Court also properly upheld the reliance on the World Health Organization's classification of glyphosate as a probable carcinogen." 

"Center for Food Safety is currently challenging the federal approval of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, as unlawful for a number of reasons—including cancer risks to farmers and farmworkers from exposure. Today's appeals court ruling is another reminder the Biden administration should act and revoke the registration of glyphosate immediately."