Bayer's $80 Million Roundup Verdict Will Probably Be Cut
- Judge eyes reduction to both compensatory and punitive damages
- Company’s bid to throw out the verdict entirely is rejected
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A federal judge said he’ll probably reduce -- but not throw out entirely -- an $80 million jury verdict against Bayer AG in the second case to go to trial over claims the company’s Roundup herbicide causes cancer.
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria said at a hearing Tuesday in San Francisco that part of the damages awarded to a California man for his pain and suffering may have been miscalculated and that the $75 million portion of the verdict intended to punish the company may be too high. Punitive damages aren’t supposed to be more than nine times bigger than compensatory damages, he said, citing past court decisions.