A man has filed suit in California court alleging Lowe’s sells Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer without including a warning that glyphosate exposure may cause cancer.

Plaintiff James Weeks says that by not posting appropriate glyphosate cancer warnings, Lowe’s is in violation of California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law. Weeks says that Lowe’s also neglects to include directions to use the herbicide, which could protect consumers from potential harm.

He said Roundup’s own labeling only indicates that “moderate eye irritation” is a possible side effect of using the glyphosate-based herbicide.

Weeks alleges that every retailer who sells Roundup products is given a detailed safety outline regarding potential hazards of using the herbicides. He says Lowe’s has an obligation to ensure shoppers know the possible hazards of using the products available for purchase at its retail outlets.

“Reasonable consumers, like plaintiff, who have purchased Roundup would not have done so had they known of its carcinogenic risks, or had the defendant provided a warning on how to minimize the risks,” Weeks said.

Weeks also filed a similar suit against Home Depot over similar allegations.

Were Dangers of Glyphosate Exposure Hidden?

Fears that Roundup may cause an increased risk of cancer have spurred more than 13,000 pending lawsuits in courts around the U.S. The county of Los Angeles announced in July that no more glyphosate-based herbicides would be allowed to be sprayed on county property due to a potential increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, an immune system cancer.

Roundup has been used on millions of acres of crops throughout the world, in addition to its use on lawns, golf courses, parks and school grounds. At least 17 countries around the world have either banned it or imposed new restrictions on the herbicide’s use.

According to an article at sustainablepulse.com, internal Monsanto documents indicate the company allegedly hid data that Roundup soaks into the skin at faster rates than were released to regulators and hit its own scientist’s data that Roundup damages DNA.

In addition, Monsanto’s public relations staff purportedly ghostwrote articles to the National Institutes of Health on behalf of members of U.S. Congress to try to defund the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which classified glyphosate as a probably human carcinogen.

Monsanto staff also allegedly ghostwrote articles for scientific publications and hired writers to fault the IARC’s findings.

Of about 25 countries that fund the IARC, the U.S. government provides the most money.

Bayer AG bought Monsanto in June 2018. According to Monsanto’s website, the acquisition is complete.

According to CBS News, Bayer allegedly has offered $8 billion to settle approximately 18,000 lawsuits alleging Roundup caused cancer. In response, a mediator familiar with the lawsuits told Reuters that Bayer has made no such offer.

Bayer’s Monsanto has lost three lawsuits recently that alleged glyphosate exposure caused cancer in the people who used Roundup products for years.

The Glyphosate Exposure Lawsuit is James Weeks v. Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC, Case No. 2:19-cv-6828, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

If you or a loved one developed cancer after using Roundup as a farm worker or home gardener, you may have a legal claim. Legal migrant farm workers may also seek help. Learn more by filling out the form on this page for a FREE case evaluation.

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