Judge Susan Schulman granted a reduced penalty to Bayer from $2.25 billion to $400 million in an ongoing court case.
A Pennsylvania man, who took on the chemical giant in a legal battle has been awarded a reduced sum after a meteoric win in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.
The man argued that he developed cancer due to exposure to the weed killer Roundup. He held Bayer responsible, and he was initially awarded the billion-dollar payout.
Bayer complaints of false Testimony approved.
The chemical company took its complaint to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, saying the appeal to the decision was based on misleading information. In the courtroom, Bayer complained that the initial court hearing was biased because the jury was exposed to misleading and inflammatory testimony.
At the time of the initial verdict, Bayer was adamant, saying, “With the jury’s adverse verdict that conflicts with the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence and worldwide regulatory and scientific assessments, and believe that we have strong arguments on appeal to get this verdict overturned and the unconstitutionally excessive damage award eliminated or reduced.”
The post-trial verdict, heard by Judge Susan Schulman, would slice the compensatory damages to $50 million and punitive damages to $350 million, a massive win for Bayer.
Bayer released a statement on their site, detailing their massive clawback in this nationwide case.
The company 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 that misled and inflamed the jury. There is no other explanation for the excessive damage awards. These errors reinforce the urgent need for legislative reform to clarify that compliance with labels required under federal law is sufficient to meet all state warning requirements.”
The $63 billion purchase of U.S. agrochemical company Monsanto in 2018 has bit Bayer massively, with the company having to deal with multiple injury and health complaints.
165,000 claims have been made in the United States against Monsanto, and Bayer since taking over have quashed the bulk of them. Still this is still a bloody nose for the German-based company and one that will set precedent in the trials to follow.
Image: Ideogram.
