California judge slashes $2 billion Roundup cancer verdict to $87 million

(Image credit: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)

published 26 July 2019

In May, a California jury awarded Alva and Alberta Pilliod $2 billion in punitive damages and $55 million in compensatory damages in their lawsuit blaming Bayer AG's Roundup weed killer for their cancer. On Thursday, California Superior Court Judge Winifred Smith reduced those awards to $69 million and $17 million, respectively, ruling that the jury's damages awards were excessive and unconstitutional. At the same time, Smith rejected Bayer's motion to throw out the punitive damages entirely on the grounds that there's insufficient evidence that glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, causes cancer.

The Pilliod verdict was the third U.S. jury verdict against Bayer in Roundup cancer litigation, all from trials in California. The other two awards were in the same $80 million ballpark as Smith's reduced number. Bayer, which acquired Roundup last year when it purchased Monsanto for $63 billion, says it will appeal all three verdicts.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.