A Pennsylvania judge reduced a $2.25 billion verdict against Bayer to $400 million for a man who claimed he developed cancer from using the company’s Roundup weedkiller.
The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas jury had initially awarded John McKivison $250 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages.
It was after determining that his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma was caused by years of using Roundup for yard work.
Judge Susan Schulman, however, granted some of Bayer’s post-trial motions.
She has now reduced the compensatory damages to $50 million and punitive damages to $350 million.
Bayer announced it would continue to appeal the decision to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.
Its lawyers argue the trial included misleading and “inflammatory” testimony.
A Bayer spokesperson said: “While the court’s decision reduces the unconstitutionally excessive damage award, we still disagree with the ruling on the liability verdict, as the trial was marred by significant and reversible errors.”
Bayer also called for US legislative reform to protect companies whose products meet federal labeling requirements.
McKivison’s attorneys, Tom Kline and Jason Itkin, expressed satisfaction the judge upheld the jury’s finding that Roundup causes cancer.
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They also plan to appeal to reinstate the original $2.25 billion verdict.
Kline and Itkin said: “The reduction of the amount of the jury’s verdict is a clear departure from established Pennsylvania law that we plan to address in an appeal.”
Bayer: “While the court’s decision reduces the unconstitutionally excessive damage award, we still disagree with the ruling on the liability verdict, as the trial was marred by significant and reversible errors”
Bayer maintains decades of studies have demonstrated that Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate, are safe for human use.
Roundup is one of the most widely used weedkillers in the United State.
However, Bayer phased out its sales for home use last year.
Bayer has won 14 of the last 20 Roundup trials .
But it faced losses in late 2023 and early 2024, resulting in over $4 billion in verdicts.
