Monsanto Loses $289 Million Verdict in Roundup Cancer Trial
- First jury verdict was test for thousands of pending claims
- Company has insisted for decades glyphosate herbicide is safe
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Monsanto Co. was socked with $289 million in damages in the first trial over claims that its Roundup weed killer causes cancer.
Lee Johnson, a former school groundskeeper whose doctors didn’t think he’d live long enough learn the verdict, prevailed Friday in San Francisco state court after jurors deliberated for three days. The trial was an important test of the evidence against Monsanto and will serve as a template for litigating thousands of other claims over the herbicide.