Five Monsanto Roundup herbicide claims must be moved to St. Louis County for trial, according to a Missouri Supreme Court ruling.
The 6-1 decision was in response to a motion to transfer five plaintiffs’ claims out of St. Louis Circuit Court, but state law directs they be heard in neighboring St. Louis County Circuit Court because of the location of Monsanto’s registered agent.
Monsanto was acquired by the Germany-based company Bayer in 2018 in a deal worth $63 billion. Bayer inherited the Roundup litigation.
“The company is pleased with the Court’s decision to reverse the lower court’s rulings on venue, as Bayer believes the Circuit Court for St. Louis County is the appropriate venue for Griswold,” said a spokesperson for Bayer. “The impact of this decision on venue will likely affect other cases currently pending in the City of St. Louis.”
A sixth case with a similar claim, however, was ordered to be litigated in the city of St. Louis because a motion to transfer was not filed in a timely manner.
“Such late filing of a writ petition on the eve of trial may be grounds for this Court in future cases to exercise its discretionary authority not to issue the writ,” stated Judge W. Brent Powell, in the Aug. 15 opinion.
Recently retired Judge George W. Draper III, who worked on the case by assignment as a senior judge, dissented.
As previously reported in Missouri Lawyers Media,Draper thought that all six claims should stay in St. Louis.
The active ingredient in Roundup is glyphosate which plaintiffs nationwide have alleged causes cancer.
However, Bayer has continued to defend itself against the accusations at trial.
“While we have great sympathy for the plaintiffs in this case, the extensive body of scientific research on glyphosate-based herbicides over four decades, as well as the assessments of the EPA and other leading health regulators worldwide support the conclusion that Roundup™ is not responsible for their illnesses,” the Bayer spokesperson told the St. Louis Record.
Most recently, the European Food Safety Authority ‘did not identify any critical areas of concern’ impacting public health or the environment in their review of glyphosate in July 2023.
“Bayer has won the last seven Roundup trials and stands fully behind our glyphosate-based Roundup® products, which have been used safely and successfully around the world for decades,” the Bayer spokesperson added.