Statement on Anderson Appeal
On May 27, 2025, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, upheld the verdict in Anderson. A jury in the Circuit Court of Cole County, Missouri, returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs on November 17, 2023, which included an unconstitutionally excessive punitive damage award. The damages were later reduced by 61% overall from $1.56 billion to $611 million on post-trial motion. Our statement:
“We disagree with the Court’s decision to not remit damages or remand the case for a new trial and will seek further review of this decision. We continue to believe that the trial court committed significant errors by allowing inadmissible and prejudicial testimony into the courtroom which poisoned the jury against the company. These errors resulted in an unconstitutionally excessive punitive damage award. Even after the verdict was reduced, the ratio of punitive to compensatory damages is 9:1, which we believe is excessive and unconstitutional.
In the majority of other cases which went to trial in Missouri, judges properly excluded inadmissible evidence, leading to positive outcomes for the company. Plaintiffs’ claims are also preempted by federal law as the 3rd Circuit recently held in Schaffner that state-based failure-to-warn theories are preempted by FIFRA which bars states from applying warning labels which are ‘different from or in addition to’ the label approved by the EPA.
We have also filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court in the Durnell case, which similarly relied on the same state-based failure-to-warn theory alleged in Anderson, that should be preempted under federal law. A favorable ruling by the Supreme Court could largely curtail this litigation. The overwhelming weight of science as well as the assessments of the EPA and leading health regulators and scientists worldwide support the safety and non-carcinogenicity of Roundup™ and we will continue to defend our products in Court."