The Biden Administration asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday not to consider Bayer AG’s appeal to dismiss claims from customers alleging that its Roundup weed killer causes cancer, as the corporation attempts to avoid possibly billions of dollars in damages.
Bayer’s appeal should be denied, according to Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, who represents the government in the High Court.
Last August, Bayer filed a motion asking judges to overturn a lower court ruling that upheld $25 million in damages awarded to California resident Edwin Hardeman, a Roundup user who blamed his cancer on glyphosate-based weedkillers from the German pharmaceutical and chemical giant. In December, the Supreme Court asked the Biden administration for an opinion.
Bayer argued that cancer claims about Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate, run counter to sound science and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approval of the product. The EPA has confirmed guidelines that glyphosate is not carcinogenic and poses no public health risk when used as directed on the label.
The lawsuits against Bayer said the company should have warned customers of the alleged cancer risk.
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