Bayer wins first Roundup trial since US Supreme Court ruling

Bayer has won the first trial over its Roundup weedkiller since the US Supreme Court limited the legal claims that people suing over the product can bring. On 30 October, a jury in St Louis, Missouri, unanimously ruled in favour of Monsanto, Bayer’s US weedkiller business, in a case brought by three women who said regular use of Roundup caused them to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer.

The three women — Theresa Aretino, Cynthia Fernandez and Betty Larkin — sued Monsanto in 2020. Fernandez died before the trial began. The jury rejected their claims of design defect, fraud and negligence. Their argument that Roundup’s label should have warned about a cancer risk had already been blocked by the Supreme Court’s ruling in June in the case known as Monsanto v Durnell, which said federal law requires weedkiller makers to use the exact label approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Bayer’s shares rose as much as 5.2% in European morning trading on Friday after the verdict, Dow Jones reported. Bayer has denied the claims against Roundup, saying decades of studies show that glyphosate, the weedkiller’s active ingredient, is safe. Around 65,000 Roundup-related cancer claims remain pending in US state and federal courts, according to Reuters.

Why it matters

This was the first test of whether Roundup lawsuits can still succeed after the Supreme Court ruling. With the failure-to-warn argument gone, the women in this case had to win on design defect and negligence instead — and the jury found against them on all three claims. Analysts at J.P. Morgan said the ruling suggests it will be difficult for future plaintiffs to pursue those claims too, which could lower the legal risk hanging over Bayer since it bought Monsanto in 2018.

What happens next

Bayer is separately waiting for a Missouri state court judge in St Louis to rule on its proposed $7.25 billion settlement, which aims to resolve tens of thousands of other Roundup cases. The three women in this trial are not part of that settlement. Bayer said it will keep defending its products in any remaining litigation, while lawyers for the three women did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.

Sources

• https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261029514410/en/Monsanto-unanimously-wins-first-Roundup-trial-since-U.S.-Supreme-Court-decision (Business Wire, 30 October 2026)
• https://www.morningstar.com/news/dow-jones/202610304726/bayer-shares-rise-after-win-in-first-roundup-trial-since-supreme-court-ruling (Morningstar / Dow Jones, 30 October 2026)
• https://www.europesays.com/germany/119177/ (Reuters via EuropeSays, 30 October 2026)