Missouri SC Transfers 5 Herbicide Cases To St. Louis Court

Missouri SC Transfers 5 Herbicide Cases To St. Louis Court

Introduction

A decision by the Missouri Supreme Court mandates that five Monsanto Roundup herbicide cases be transferred to St. Louis County for trial.

The move to have five plaintiffs' claims heard outside of St. Louis Circuit Court was denied by a vote of 6-1, despite the fact that state law requires that they be considered in St. Louis County Circuit Court since that is where Monsanto's registered agent is located. Bayer, a firm with headquarters in Germany, purchased Monsanto in 2018 for $63 billion. Bayer took over the Roundup legal dispute.

According to a Bayer spokesperson, the Circuit Court for St. Louis County is the proper forum for Griswold. The business is happy with the Court's decision to overrule the lower court's judgments on venue. The outcome of this venue determination will probably have an influence on other matters that are still pending in the City of St. Louis.

However, because an application to transfer was not submitted in a timely way, a sixth case with a related claim was ordered to be tried in St. Louis. The court may utilize its discretionary authority not to grant the writ in future situations due to such late submission of a writ petition on the night of trial, the judge said.

A senior judge who had recently retired and was assigned to the case disagreed. All six claims, as was previously reported, required a stay in St. Louis. Glyphosate, the primary component of Roundup, has been linked to cancer by plaintiffs across the country. Nevertheless, Bayer has persisted in fighting back against the charges throughout the trial.

The Bayer spokesperson stated that although the company has great sympathy for the plaintiffs in this case, the conclusion that Roundup is not to blame for their illnesses is supported by a substantial body of scientific research on glyphosate-based herbicides that spans four decades as well as assessments made by the EPA and other top health regulators worldwide.

The most recent examination of glyphosate by the European Food Safety Authority in July 2023 found no significant causes for concern for the environment or public health.

The Bayer representative stated that the company's glyphosate-based Roundup products, which have been used safely and successfully across the world for decades, have won the last seven Roundup trials. Bayer also firmly supports these products.