After Bayer failed to secure Roundup cancer settlements by the court’s deadline, the outstanding lawsuits are now headed for trials.

In a court filing, Bayer told the court that 1,861 cases out of 3,787 remain in place with no settlement agreement currently available. According to the court filing from Bayer, the parties are “actively engaged in ongoing settlement discussions.”

However, the lack of Roundup settlements means that Bayer has failed to meet the federal settlement deadline set by the court for Nov. 2. As a result, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco – the judge overseeing the Roundup multidistrict litigation in federal court – warned that the would move forward with scheduling trials in these cases.

Sending these cases to trial could be a significant obstacle for Bayer and its subsidiary Monsanto. While the companies have been negotiating Roundup settlements with plaintiffs and their lawyers, most of the cases have been put on hold. If the cases are sent to trial, Bayer could once again be facing millions in jury verdicts as seen with cases tried in the past.

Roundup Cancer Settlements & Verdicts

Back in August, Bayer proposed $8 billion in Roundup cancer settlements for over 18,000 cases. Initially, the company had proposed paying only $6 billion during settlement negotiations. However, the plaintiffs lawyers reportedly want at least $10 billion to resolve the thousands of cases – potentially even more.

The back and forth between lawyers has continued as Bayer attempts to resolve thousands of lawsuits alleging that their products can cause cancer. However, Bayer is also facing pressure from investors who are increasingly distrustful of the company’s management. In fact, after a drop in market value of $30 billion prompted by ongoing litigation, shareholders held a vote of no confidence in the company’s management.

If Bayer can manage to settle the claims for around $8 billion, this may alleviate some of their investor pressure. According to a Baader Helvea analyst’s email statement to the Insurance Journal, this amount would be much lower than is feared by investors.

However, this doesn’t look to be the case. With nearly 2,000 lawsuits still pending against the company in federal court, Bayer may have to divide its focus between settlement agreements and ongoing trials.

Bayer and Monsanto have already faced serious losses in Roundup cancer trials. In August 2018 during the first Roundup trial held in the U.S., a San Francisco court awarded $289.2 million to a local groundskeeper who claimed that the developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after being repeatedly exposed to Roundup. Although this award was later reduced by 74% to $78.5 million, the award is still a significant loss for the company and a significant win for the plaintiff.

In July, the award was further reduced to $20.4 million by an appeals court after the court refused to fully repeal the award. More recently, Bayer tried to elevate the case to California Supreme Court but the high court refused to consider the appeal.

Thousands of other plaintiffs have filed legal action against Roundup manufacturer Monsanto and its parent company Bayer. According to these plaintiffs, the use of Roundup is associated with the development of cancers – most commonly non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a cancer of the immune system which forms cancerous cells in a type of white blood cell known as lymphocytes. In most cases, the cause of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is not known. However, plaintiffs contend that long term exposure to Roundup and its active ingredient glyphosate can cause the potentially fatal cancer.

Unfortunately, this issue isn’t cut and dry. Monsanto and Bayer stand by the safety of their products with the support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has said that glyphosate is “not likely” to cause cancer, but other authorities agree. For example, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies glyphosate as a “probable human carcinogen” – an opinion which has been adopted by California state authorities.

Studies have also shown that glyphosate may increase the risk of cancer. A 2019 study conducted by researchers from California, Washington, and New York showed that exposure to glyphosate herbicides increases the risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma by 41%.

Armed with this and other evidence, plaintiffs may soon be sent to court to argue their case if the federal court schedules Roundup cancer trials.

The Roundup Cancer Settlements are a part of In re: Roundup Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 3:16-md-02741, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.