Bayer is no stranger to lawsuits over Roundup, a popular glyphosate-containing herbicide. Multiple people have filed lawsuits against the life science giant claiming that the product caused them to develop non-Hodgkins lymphoma. However, a recently filed lawsuit is a bit different.

The new Roundup class action lawsuit does not seek damages for cancer allegedly caused by Roundup, but instead argues that Monsanto and its now-owner Bayer sold Roundup under “false pretenses,” Fox 2 Now Saint Louis reports.  

According to customers in the Bayer Roundup false advertising class action lawsuit, Bayer and Monsanto falsely represented Roundup as safe. Allegedly, this representation was false because multiple health organizations have expressed concern that Roundup could be linked to the development of some types of cancer.

To support their claim that Roundup is not as safe as advertised, the lawsuits notes several studies, including one by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for the Research on Cancer, that point to a possible connection between the popular weedkiller and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  

Though some health organizations have expressed concern over the carcinogenicity of glyphosate, Roundup’s main ingredient, other organizations maintain that it is safe.

In combating this most recent Roundup class action lawsuit, Bayer points to the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency still maintains that glyphosate is safe when “used in accordance with its current label.”

Bayer’s efforts to defend itself against the barrage of claims against Roundup have not proven entirely successful so far. Juries have granted multiple awards in favor of alleged Roundup cancer victims in the past.

Fox 2 Now says that in March, $80 million in damages was awarded to a 70-year old man who claimed that glyphosate caused him to develop cancer. The man did not receive the full $80 million, after a judge stated that limits set by the U.S. Supreme Court would prevent him from receiving that amount. As a result, he received $25 million in damages.

Reporters do wonder if this history of juries ruling in favor of plaintiffs will bode well for the newest Roundup class action lawsuit, given the differences between this case and its predecessors.

In June, Reuters reported that Bayer asked a California judge to reverse a $2 billion verdict from a jury who agreed with a couple’s claims that exposure to Roundup caused them both to develop cancer. 

Fox 2 Now notes that Bayer says, “we stand behind our glyphosate-based products and will vigorously defend them.” The company is seemingly doing just that. The company argued that the couple who claimed that their cancer was caused by glyphosate had used “inflammatory, fabricated, and irrelevant evidence” in trying to hold Bayer liable for their injuries.

Now, customers will attempt to launch false advertising claims against Bayer’s reportedly aggressive litigation tactics.

The Roundup false advertising class action lawsuit reportedly will attempt to get money back for a class of consumers who purchased Roundup at least in part because they believed it was safe based on Bayer’s representations.

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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