The Steady Drip

Monsanto Weed Killer Case Could Upend Billions in Compensation (Connecting the Dots: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), The Monsanto Company, Bayer AG, The United States Holocaust Memorial Council & The Carnegie/Soros Network)

The court must decide whether the EPA’s position that glyphosate needs no cancer warning shields companies from state lawsuits.

The Epoch Times

By Troy Myers, Jacob Burg April 26, 2026 Updated: April 27, 2026

A display of Roundup bottles inside Monsanto headquarters in St. Louis on May 21, 2009. Brent Stirton/Getty Images.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/monsanto-weedkiller-case-could-upend-billions-in-compensation-6015419?c=share_pos1&pid=iOS_app_share

Like countless homeowners, John Durnell of Missouri used a popular herbicide to keep his home and community free from unwanted weeds.

He used the chemical from the 1990s until 2018, when he developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a diagnosis he blames on an ingredient known as glyphosate in his Roundup weed killer.

Thousands of other people across the country, including Durnell, have sued Roundup’s manufacturer, Monsanto, claiming that the company failed to warn consumers that exposure to its glyphosate-based herbicides could cause them to develop cancer.

Durnell secured a $1.25 million verdict in Missouri state court, but Monsanto appealed. Now his claim is being tested again in the highest court in the nation.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Monsanto Co. v. Durnell on April 27.

The question before the high court is not about Roundup or glyphosate’s safety; rather, it concerns preemption, or whether federal law supersedes state law when the two are in conflict.

Monsanto, which Bayer acquired in 2018, told the justices that the verdict was based on a faulty application of state law and conflicted with federal regulation.

The Supreme Court is focused on that question, and its ruling could affect thousands of people and the agricultural industry.

“If the Supreme Court rules for Bayer, it’s hard not to see it as a judicial shield for corporate America,“ personal injury attorney Angel Reyes told The Epoch Times. ”Compliance with federal labeling would function less like a floor for safety and more like a litigation force field.”

The Bayer logo is displayed at the company’s site in Berlin on March 4, 2026. The Supreme Court will hear arguments on April 27 in a case involving Monsanto, acquired by Bayer in 2018, over claims that the company failed to warn that its glyphosate-based herbicides could cause cancer. Tobias Schwarz/AFP via Getty Images

Glyphosate

Monsanto’s primary argument against Durnell relied on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) decision to register glyphosate in 1974, allowing its use in the United States. It is a consistent theme brought up in similar lawsuits against the company.

The agency has historically maintained that Roundup and glyphosate have sufficient warning labels and do not cause cancer.

Since glyphosate’s approval, it has become among the most widely used chemicals in agricultural production. Its use skyrocketed in the 1990s, when Monsanto introduced genetically modified “Roundup Ready” crops, allowing farmers to kill weeds without killing the crop itself.

The EPA registered glyphosate as a pesticide pursuant to its authority under a law known as the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. Monsanto argued that when Congress passed that law in 1947, it gave the federal government, not states, certain power to regulate products such as Roundup.

This argument is based on a legal doctrine known as preemption, which holds that federal law takes precedence over state law. It is ultimately rooted in the supremacy clause of the Constitution, which states that federal laws reign “supreme.”

Some of the arguments on April 27 could focus on the 1947 law’s phrasing, which allows states to regulate pesticides but contains a caveat.

“[States] shall not impose or continue in effect any requirements for labeling or packaging in addition to or different from those required under [the law],” it reads.

Durnell’s verdict was based on a “failure-to-warn” claim, or the idea that Monsanto violated a Missouri law that required companies to warn about product dangers.

Agricultural laborers spray for insects and weeds in orchards at a fruit farm in Mesa, Calif., on March 27, 2020. Since its approval by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1974, glyphosate has become one of the most widely used agricultural chemicals. Brent Stirton/Getty Images

Because the federal government already approved glyphosate without those additional warnings, Monsanto argued that Missouri’s law could not go further in regulating how it warned consumers.

“The verdict in Durnell’s favor ... necessarily required the jury to find that state law required Monsanto to include in Roundup’s label a warning that EPA has deemed unsupported and unnecessary,” lawyers for Monsanto told the court.

If the Supreme Court were to rule in Monsanto’s favor, it could limit plaintiffs’ ability to hold Monsanto or other manufacturers liable.

Durnell’s Argument

Despite the EPA’s approval, many others have alleged that glyphosate increases cancer risk.

The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate in a 2015 review as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” Researchers said this finding was based on “limited” evidence of cancer in humans and “sufficient” evidence of cancer in experiments with animals.

Austria, Bermuda, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, Italy, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, and more have taken steps to ban or restrict the sale of Roundup and glyphosate-based herbicides.

The Carlson Law Firm, which works on glyphosate cases, found at least 150 cities and counties in the United States with such bans or restrictions.

“Missouri has a right to protect its citizens from the detrimental health effects of dangerous pesticides,” Durnell’s attorneys said in a brief to the court.

A customer shops for Roundup weed killer in San Rafael, Calif., on July 9, 2018. Brazil, France, Bermuda, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Austria, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, and more have taken steps to ban or restrict the sale of Roundup and glyphosate-based herbicides. Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

His attorneys also argued that the verdict itself did not require new labeling or packaging requirements and therefore did not violate the federal pesticides law. They argued that the verdict merely held Monsanto liable for not issuing a “warning.”

Such a warning, they said, could come in the form of a television advertisement rather than a label.

Other Cases

Bayer said earlier this year that it welcomed the Supreme Court’s review.

“It is time for the U.S. legal system to establish that companies should not be punished under state laws for complying with federal warning label requirements,” Bayer said on Jan. 16.

Durnell’s story is similar to those of thousands of other plaintiffs also seeking to hold Monsanto liable.

Although many are pending, there are numerous examples of cases in which juries have sided with and awarded individuals who alleged harm from Roundup.

Dewayne “Lee” Johnson, for example, was working as a groundskeeper in the summer of 2013 when an accident with Monsanto’s glyphosate-based Ranger Pro weed killer left him drenched in the chemical from head to toe.

In 2014, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Plaintiff Dewayne Johnson reacts after a verdict in his case against Monsanto at the Superior Court of California in San Francisco on Aug. 10, 2018. Johnson, a groundskeeper, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2014, a year after he was exposed to the company’s weed killer. Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

Johnson sued Monsanto, accusing the company of failing to warn users of its glyphosate-based herbicides.

The company denied Johnson’s claims and cited preemption, but a jury awarded him $289 million. That figure was ultimately reduced to $20.5 million in damages after multiple requests for a new trial and appeals.

A jury similarly awarded Alberta and Alva Pilliod tens of millions of dollars in compensatory damages and $1 billion in punitive damages in 2017. They were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after decades of Roundup use.

After motions for a new trial by Monsanto, an agreement was eventually reached to award Alberta Pilliod more than $56 million and Alva Pilliod more than $30 million.

More money could be flowing to plaintiffs such as Johnson after Bayer proposed a nationwide class-action settlement in February of up to $7.25 billion. The settlement would resolve all current and future claims that allege exposure to Roundup caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Potential Decision

It is unclear how a Supreme Court ruling in Durnell’s case could affect the $7.25 billion proposal, although Bayer said the two would not have an effect on each other.

“The proposed class, combined with Supreme Court review in Durnell, are independently necessary and mutually reinforcing steps in the Company’s multipronged strategy to significantly contain the Roundup litigation,” Bayer said.

The Monsanto logo at its Manufacturing Site and Operations Center in Lillo, Belgium, on May 24, 2016. The Trump administration has defended Monsanto, saying that allowing state law claims such as Durnell’s to stand would “gut” the uniformity in the law. John Thys/AFP via Getty Images

Nonetheless, the Supreme Court could affect the more than 100,000 people across the country also seeking to hold Monsanto liable for its alleged failure to warn.

Reyes predicted that justices would likely side with Bayer, and that that “would effectively slam the brakes on thousands of state court claims.”

“Injured consumers may find that the courthouse doors are open in theory but locked in practice,” he said.

The Trump administration has defended Monsanto and asked to participate in oral arguments on April 27, and the Justice Department has said Missouri had labeling requirements that differed from those of the federal pesticide law.

When the EPA registers a chemical such as glyphosate, it has the “final word on precautionary warnings” and any “state-law claims second-guess those judgments,” lawyers for the Trump administration said.

The Environmental Protection Agency in Washington on Jan. 6, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Furthermore, allowing state law claims such as Durnell’s to stand would “gut” the uniformity in the law, the government said.

“All 50 States could pick their own warning regimes,” the brief filed in March states. “Hawaii might highlight risks to pristine beaches. Oklahoma might warn of harms to horses. Alaska might urge against applications near glaciers. And Maryland might caution against woodland applications that could harm its beloved Baltimore oriole.”

A ruling disrupting the use of glyphosate could raise other concerns for the administration.

President Donald Trump said in a February executive order that the chemical was critical to the nation’s food supply and therefore national defense. He also directed his administration to ensure that there was an adequate supply.

The order would also give immunity to manufacturers if Congress were to pass it into law.

Bayer AG

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayer_AG

The Bayer company then became part of IG Farben, a German chemical company conglomerate. During World War II, the IG Farben used slave labor in factories attached to large slave labor camps, notably the sub-camps of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp.[3] IG Farben owned 42.5% of the company that manufactured Zyklon B,[4] a chemical used in the gas chambers of Auschwitz and other extermination camps. After World War II, the Allies broke up IG Farben and Bayer reappeared as an individual business. The Bayer executive Fritz ter Meer, sentenced to seven years in prison during the IG Farben Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, was made head of the supervisory board of Bayer in 1956, after his release.

Connecting the Dots:

Bayer AG is the parent company for the Monsanto Company.

Bayer HealthCare is a subsidiary of Bayer AG.

Sidley Austin LLP was the lobby firm for the Monsanto Company and is the lobby firm for Bayer HealthCare.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

R. Eden Martin is counsel at Sidley Austin LLP and the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Newton N. Minow was a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP and an honorary trustee at the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Ted Lieu was honored with the Carnegie Corporation of New York's Great Immigrants Award, has represented California's 36th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2023 and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Astrid S. Tuminez was a program officer at the Carnegie Corporation of New York and is the 7th President of the Utah Valley University (Charlie Kirk Shooting).

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Cameron F. Kerry is a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), John F. Kerry’s brother, a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP and Teresa Heinz Kerry’s brother-in-law.

Sidley Austin LLP was the lobby firm for the Monsanto Company and is the lobby firm for Bayer HealthCare.

Teresa Heinz Kerry is Cameron F. Kerry’s sister-in-law, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a life trustee at Carnegie Mellon University and a trustee at the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.

Andrew Carnegie was the endowed predecessor schools for Carnegie Mellon University, the founder for the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh and the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Klaus Kleinfeld is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a director at Bayer AG and a director at the American Council on Germany.

Gregory S. Babe is the president & CEO for the Bayer Corporation and was a director at the American Council on Germany.

Henry A. Kissinger was a director at the American Council on Germany, a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank) and a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).

William A. Nitze was a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), an assistant administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).

David M. Rubenstein was a director at the American Council on Germany, a benefactor for the Aspen Institute (think tank), is co-chairman for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and the president of the Economic Club of Washington.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think tank) and the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld and was the president of the Economic Club of Washington.

Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP is the lobby firm for the Monsanto Company.

Bayer AG is the parent company for the Monsanto Company.

Bayer HealthCare is a subsidiary of Bayer AG.

Sidley Austin LLP was the lobby firm for the Monsanto Company and is the lobby firm for Bayer HealthCare.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

R. Eden Martin is counsel at Sidley Austin LLP and the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Newton N. Minow was a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP and an honorary trustee at the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Ted Lieu was honored with the Carnegie Corporation of New York's Great Immigrants Award, has represented California's 36th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2023 and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Astrid S. Tuminez was a program officer at the Carnegie Corporation of New York and is the 7th President of the Utah Valley University (Charlie Kirk Shooting).

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Center for American Progress and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society and a supporter for the Center for American Progress.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

Melody C. Barnes was the EVP for the Center for American Progress, the domestic policy council, director for the Barack Obama administration and is Barack Obama’s golf partner.

Carol M. Browner is a senior fellow, director at the Center for American Progress, was a director at the Climate Reality Project, the energy czar for the Barack Obama administration and an administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Lee M. Thomas was an administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a director at the Climate Reality Project.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Climate Reality Project.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Orin S. Kramer is a director at the Climate Reality Project and was an administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Albert A. Gore Jr. is the chairman for the Climate Reality Project and a director at Apple Inc.

Steve Jobs was the co-founder & chairman for Apple Inc. and married the Laurene Powell Jobs.

Lisa P. Jackson is the VP for Apple Inc. and was an administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the Barack Obama administration.

Eric E. Schmidt was a director at Apple Inc., a funder for the New America Foundation and is the chairman for the New America Foundation.

Laurene Powell Jobs was married to Steve Jobs and a director at the New America Foundation.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the New America Foundation and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Astrid S. Tuminez was a program officer at the Carnegie Corporation of New York and is the 7th President of the Utah Valley University (Charlie Kirk Shooting).

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the New America Foundation and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Jonathan Soros is a director at the New America Foundation, George Soros’s son and the vice chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

George Soros is Jonathan Soros’s father and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the New America Foundation and the Urban Institute (think tank).

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was a funder for the Urban Institute (think tank).

Urban Institute (think tank) is a contractor for Obamacare.

William D. Ruckelshaus is a life trustee at the Urban Institute (think tank) and was an administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is a life trustee at the Urban Institute (think tank) and a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld.

Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP is the lobby firm for the Monsanto Company.

Warren E. Buffett is a life trustee at the Urban Institute (think tank) and an adviser at the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank).

Michael Douglas is a director at the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank) and a friend of George Soros.

Ted Turner is a co-chairman for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank) and the founder of CNN.

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) was a funder for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank).

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank), the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the founder of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).

Ted Lieu was honored with the Carnegie Corporation of New York's Great Immigrants Award, has represented California's 36th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2023 and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Astrid S. Tuminez was a program officer at the Carnegie Corporation of New York and is the 7th President of the Utah Valley University (Charlie Kirk Shooting).

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the founder of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank), the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), the Aspen Institute (think tank), the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank) and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and the Aspen Institute (think tank).

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think tank).

Walter Isaacson is the president & CEO for the Aspen Institute (think tank) and was the chairman & CEO for CNN.

William A. Nitze is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), was a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank) and an assistant administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Alex A. Beehler was a special assistant for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the environmental and regulatory affairs director for Koch Industries.

David H. Koch is the EVP for Koch Industries and a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).

Carnegie Corporation of New York was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think tank) and a supporter for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

James S. Crown is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago and Lester Crown’s son.

Lester Crown was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), is James S. Crown’s father and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

Sidley Austin LLP was the lobby firm for the Monsanto Company and is the lobby firm for Bayer HealthCare.

Bayer AG is the parent company for the Monsanto Company.

Bayer HealthCare is a subsidiary of Bayer AG.

Newton N. Minow was a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago and an honorary trustee at the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Andrew Carnegie was the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Ted Lieu was honored with the Carnegie Corporation of New York's Great Immigrants Award, has represented California's 36th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2023 and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.