A San Francisco jury sentenced Monsanto to pay $ 289 million in August. The jury ruled that glyphosate-containing weedkillers such as Roundup and RangerPro had contributed „significantly“ to Johnson’s cancer. Monsanto – since June daughter of the German chemical company Bayer – have not warned about the danger of herbicides and acted with „treachery“.
In October, a judge refused a new trial. At the same time, it ordered a reduction in the compensation from $ 289 million to $ 78 million.
Bayer welcomed this reduction as a „step in the right direction“. However, the Group emphasized that it „remains convinced that the verdict contradicts the evidence presented in the process“. Last week, Bayer CEO Werner Baumann said: „We are in the process of preparing the appeal letter for filing with the California Appeal Court.“
At the center of the dispute is the question of whether the chemical glyphosate contained in the weedkillers Roundup and RangerPro has a carcinogenic effect. Monsanto denies such an effect of its product. In research this question is controversial.
