Bayer Hopes Study Prevents Future Roundup Lawsuits
2020-06-27
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1German chemical company Bayer has agreed to let an independent scientific team study the health effects of its popular weed killer, Roundup.
2Legal experts say the company hopes results of the study will prevent future lawsuits by people who claim the product is harmful.
3Bayer agreed Wednesday to pay as much as $10.9 billion to end legal cases brought by U.S. Roundup users who say the product gave them a form of blood cancer.
4But as part of the settlement agreement, Bayer had to find a separate solution aimed at limiting future claims without removing the product from stores.
5The company decided to take a risk that the scientific study will support its claim that the chemical glyphosate is safe for agricultural use.
6Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup.
7Regulators worldwide have found glyphosate not to be carcinogenic.
8That includes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the European Chemicals Agency.
9But the World Health Organization's cancer research arm found the weed killer to be a "probable carcinogen" in 2015.
10And since 2018, three U.S. juries, who listened to scientific evidence from both sides during trial, found that Roundup causes cancer.
11David Noll is a law professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
12He told Reuters news agency that Bayer is "taking a huge risk by doing this."
13He said the company hopes "time can show that the science underlying the plaintiffs' claims is bad."
14Many details of the proposal have not yet been released and a final settlement must be approved by a federal judge.
15But the settlement plan calls for an independent team of scientific experts, who will likely be chosen and agreed upon by both sides.
16The company will pay $1.25 billion to support the team's research, an amount that does not include any payments to settle future lawsuits.
17The scientific review process is expected to take at least four years.
18Findings by the team would be legally binding on Bayer, as well as anyone who has used Roundup before Wednesday, but not developed cancer.
19If the scientific team finds glyphosate to be non-carcinogenic, those users could not bring legal action.
20If the team does find glyphosate causes cancer, however, Bayer could face many new lawsuits, with possible damages decided at a later date.
21Bayer said Wednesday the lead plaintiffs' lawyers have agreed to the plan.
22However, Reuters was not immediately able to reach those lawyers for comment.
23In the past, lawyers representing people who said Roundup gave them cancer have claimed Bayer manipulated scientific studies and misled the scientific community.
24Bayer denies those claims.
25Company officials on calls with reporters and experts said they were confident the scientific review would find Roundup safe.
26Scientific teams have been set up in other major cases involving mass plaintiffs against Bayer.
27But those cases were generally not part of a settlement process, legal experts said.
28Bayer's proposal was "creative but risky" and will likely face problems in court, said Adam Zimmerman, a professor at Loyola Law School in California.
29The experts said many details of the proposal remain unclear.
30One unknown is whether people who have not yet gotten sick could give up their rights to a future lawsuit under the plan.
31I'm Bryan Lynn.
1German chemical company Bayer has agreed to let an independent scientific team study the health effects of its popular weed killer, Roundup. Legal experts say the company hopes results of the study will prevent future lawsuits by people who claim the product is harmful. 2Bayer agreed Wednesday to pay as much as $10.9 billion to end legal cases brought by U.S. Roundup users who say the product gave them a form of blood cancer. But as part of the settlement agreement, Bayer had to find a separate solution aimed at limiting future claims without removing the product from stores. 3The company decided to take a risk that the scientific study will support its claim that the chemical glyphosate is safe for agricultural use. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup. 4Regulators worldwide have found glyphosate not to be carcinogenic. That includes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the European Chemicals Agency. 5But the World Health Organization's cancer research arm found the weed killer to be a "probable carcinogen" in 2015. And since 2018, three U.S. juries, who listened to scientific evidence from both sides during trial, found that Roundup causes cancer. 6David Noll is a law professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He told Reuters news agency that Bayer is "taking a huge risk by doing this." He said the company hopes "time can show that the science underlying the plaintiffs' claims is bad." 7Many details of the proposal have not yet been released and a final settlement must be approved by a federal judge. But the settlement plan calls for an independent team of scientific experts, who will likely be chosen and agreed upon by both sides. 8The company will pay $1.25 billion to support the team's research, an amount that does not include any payments to settle future lawsuits. 9The scientific review process is expected to take at least four years. Findings by the team would be legally binding on Bayer, as well as anyone who has used Roundup before Wednesday, but not developed cancer. 10If the scientific team finds glyphosate to be non-carcinogenic, those users could not bring legal action. If the team does find glyphosate causes cancer, however, Bayer could face many new lawsuits, with possible damages decided at a later date. 11Bayer said Wednesday the lead plaintiffs' lawyers have agreed to the plan. However, Reuters was not immediately able to reach those lawyers for comment. 12In the past, lawyers representing people who said Roundup gave them cancer have claimed Bayer manipulated scientific studies and misled the scientific community. Bayer denies those claims. 13Company officials on calls with reporters and experts said they were confident the scientific review would find Roundup safe. 14Scientific teams have been set up in other major cases involving mass plaintiffs against Bayer. But those cases were generally not part of a settlement process, legal experts said. 15Bayer's proposal was "creative but risky" and will likely face problems in court, said Adam Zimmerman, a professor at Loyola Law School in California. 16The experts said many details of the proposal remain unclear. One unknown is whether people who have not yet gotten sick could give up their rights to a future lawsuit under the plan. 17I'm Bryan Lynn. 18Reuters news agency reported this story. Alice Bryant adapted it for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor. 19________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21weed - n. a plant that grows very quickly where it is not wanted and covers or kills more desirable plants 22lawsuit - n. a claim or dispute brought to a court of law for a formal judgment 23carcinogenic - adj. having the potential to cause cancer 24plaintiff - n. a person who sues another person or accuses another person of a crime in a court of law 25binding - adj. forcing or requiring someone to do something because of a promise or agreement 26manipulate - v. to change something in an unfair or selfish way 27confident - adj. having a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something