United States Supreme Court May Block Thousands of Lawsuits Over Monsanto’s Weedkiller

The United States Supreme Court justices will not decide whether Roundup’s active ingredient, glyphosate, causes cancer, but will instead consider whether federal law prevents people from suing under state law for failing to warn about cancer risks when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not required such a warning.

At the heart of the dispute is whether federal regulation overrides state ‘failure to warn’ claims. Monsanto argues that the EPA has repeatedly concluded glyphosate does not cause cancer and has even said a cancer warning label would be misleading and illegal. Because of this, the company says state court verdicts – such as a Missouri case awarding $1.25 million to a man with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma – directly conflict with federal law and should be thrown out.

Campaigners warn the ruling could sharply limit accountability for pesticide makers, arguing that if federal law blocks state lawsuits, people harmed by the chemicals may have no realistic legal remedy, even if they develop serious illnesses after long-term use. The court’s decision could therefore have sweeping consequences, not just for Roundup litigation, but also for how chemical manufacturers are held responsible when federal regulators decline to mandate warning labels.

To read how Monsanto helped write the ‘science’ that claimed Roundup was safe, see this article on our website.