Monsanto received its first favorable Roundup verdict in Los Angeles after jurors found that the weed killer was not a "substantial factor" in a young boy contracting a rare form of cancer.
A spokesperson for Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, told The Record that the jury gave them the decision that they were hoping for.
“The jury’s verdict in favor of the company on causation brings this trial to a successful conclusion and is consistent with the assessments of expert regulators worldwide as well as the overwhelming weight of four decades of extensive science,” said spokesperson Bob Chlopak in an email. “While we have great sympathy for Ezra Clark and his family, the jury carefully considered the science applicable to this case and determined that Roundup was not the cause of his illness.”
Ezra Clark, now 10, was four years old when he was diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma. His mother, Destiny Clark, alleged that he was exposed to the herbicide when she used the product on her lawn.
Her lawsuit was one of the roughly 125,000 plaintiffs who have gone to court seeking damages from the agrochemical company on the grounds that handling their product produced adverse health effects.
According to Reuters, last week’s decision is the first jury verdict Bayer has won in a Roundup case out of the four that have gone to trial.
Bayer also released a statement after the outcome.
“There has been a positive verdict in favor of Monsanto in the current Roundup trial in California Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles, Clark v. Monsanto,” the company said. “The jury decided in Monsanto’s favor in the case of Ezra Clark, a minor whose mother claims that Roundup caused his NHL. This was a bifurcated trial in which the jury was asked in the first phase to decide whether Roundup exposure was a substantial factor in causing Ezra Clark’s NHL. The jury’s verdict in favor of Monsanto brings an end to this trial.”
The company has already settled roughly 96,000 cases since acquiring Monsanto three years ago, according to Reuters.