Chemical Industry Asks Supreme Court to Shield them from Cancer Lawsuits from Pesticides
If the Court sides with the chemical industry, cancer patients and farmworkers could lose their only path to compensation when toxic pesticides make them sick
Contacts
Robert Valencia, rvalencia@earthjustice.org
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Monsanto v. Durnell, a case that could strip families, farmworkers, and communities of their right to sue chemical corporations that failed to warn them about cancer and other serious diseases linked to pesticides.
At the center of the case is Roundup, the world’s most widely used weed killer. Its active ingredient, glyphosate, has been linked to cancer and other serious illnesses. Monsanto argues that the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of the manufacturer’s pesticide label should permanently block lawsuits, even when new research shows a pesticide is dangerous, and even if the company withheld evidence or delayed updating warnings.
“Questions from the Justices recognized that the Environmental Protection Agency approves pesticide labels based on the evidence before the agency at a single moment in time, but that evidence can become outdated as real-world exposure grows and scientific studies document resulting harms,” said Patti Goldman, senior attorney at Earthjustice. “Federal law requires the manufacturers to update their labels to provide sufficient warnings and directions to protect the public, and state failure-to-warn claims reinforce that obligation — while ensuring children, families, and workers have a path to seek remedies for the harm they suffer.”
The Supreme Court rejected the chemical industry’s argument in 2005, deciding that people could pursue state law claims that a pesticide law failed to provide adequate warnings and directions to protect public health. Monsanto is asking the Court to upend that ruling and lock in inadequate labels. A ruling for Monsanto would remove incentives for chemical companies to comply with both their federal and state law obligations.
Nearly 100,000 people have filed Roundup cancer lawsuits. State court verdicts have helped victims pay for medical care, replace lost income, and support families devastated by preventable illness. A ruling in Monsanto’s favor could let chemical corporations avoid billions in liability, shifting the cost of illness onto the families they harmed.
Earthjustice, on behalf of farmworker organizations, filed an amicus brief urging the Court to preserve these protections. A decision is expected this summer.
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