Judge cuts award in Monsanto weed-killer cancer case to $78M

A California judge on Monday upheld a jury’s verdict that found agricultural giant Monsanto’s weed killer caused a man cancer, but reduced the money awarded to the man from $289 million to $78 million, according to the Associated Press.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Suzanne Bolanos said she had doubts about the jury’s original punitive damage award to DeWayne Johnson, 46, who charged in his lawsuit that using Roundup weedkiller and another Monsanto product led him to develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Johnson’s is among hundreds of other lawsuits linking the product to cancer.

{mosads}In her ruling Monday, Bolanos denied Monsanto’s request for a new trial and gave Johnson until December to take the reduced award or ask for a new trial.

“Although we believe a reduction in punitive damages was unwarranted and we are weighing the options, we are pleased the court did not disturb the verdict,” Johnson’s spokeswoman Diana McKinley, according to the AP.

Johnson has said he was exposed to the products while working as a school groundskeeper. 

In August, the jury in a San Francisco Superior Court ordered Monsanto to pay Johnson, a terminally ill man, $250 million in punitive damages and $39 million in compensatory damages. In its ruling, the jury determined that the packaging of the Monsanto product should have noted the risks of using it. 

Johnson’s case was the first of those accusing Monsanto’s Roundup of causing cancer to go to trial.

A Monsanto spokesperson said the company was pleased with the slashed award, but added that it plans to appeal the verdict, citing a lack of scientific proof linking Roundup to cancer.

Johnson’s spokesperson said he and his lawyers are determining their next steps.