Bayer Keeps Roundup Faith After Losing Second Trial
- Analysts see mounting pressure on company to settle claims
- Bayer contends scientific studies show herbicide is safe
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Bayer AG vowed to keep defending its weedkiller Roundup after losing a second trial over claims it causes cancer, indicating that the embattled company isn’t yet ready to consider spending billions of dollars to settle thousands of similar lawsuits.
A jury in San Francisco federal court awarded compensatory damages of $5.3 million and punitive damages of $75 million to a 70-year-old man who became ill after spraying the herbicide on his property for decades. Wednesday’s verdict follows a similar decision by a state court jury last summer, and comes as a third trial is under way in Oakland, California.