Jury Hits Monsanto with $289 Million Verdict in Roundup Trial
A San Francisco jury has returned a $289 million verdict against Monsanto Co., finding that the company marketed its Roundup weedkiller products for years while aware of the brand’s cancer-causing properties. Ruling in favor of former school groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson, the jury awarded $39.25 million in compensatory damages and $250 million in punitive damages, according to a post on the website of Androvett Legal Media & Marketing.
The post continues:
“Today the jury confirmed what we have known since our investigation began — that Monsanto knew Roundup contained cancer-causing ingredients and failed to take this product off the shelf and protect consumers. The company chose corporate profit and greed above humanity,” said Micah Dortch of the Potts Law Firm in Dallas. Although not involved in the just-concluded trial, the firm represents more than 100 clients currently with similar claims.
Johnson sued Monsanto in 2016, claiming the company has known of the health risks associated with its herbicides since at least the 1990s, when studies began showing a correlation between the products and lymphoma. As the company did not include a warning label on its products, he claimed he believed they were safe to use. Johnson suffers from advanced non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that he claims was caused by the Monsanto herbicides he regularly used as part of his job.
