A United States District Court Judge for the Northern
District of California has reduced an $75 million punitive damages award
against Monsanto Company to $20 million in the nation’s first federally-tried
Roundup case. Hardeman v. Monsanto, 3:16-cv-00525 (N.D. Cal., July 15,
2019). In reducing the award, the Court
stated Monsanto deserves to be punished, but that the punitive damages award
was constitutionally impermissible.
The Court upheld the jury’s award of $5.27 million in
compensatory damages, finding the award was supported by sufficient evidence. Guided by the nature of Monsanto’s conduct,
the Court concluded punitive damages of $20 million – approximately four times the
compensatory damages award – is the maximum award that comports with due
process.
In reducing the award, the Court noted the jury’s punitive
damages award was approximately 15 times the size of the compensatory damages
award. The Court stated “…Monsanto’s
conduct, while reprehensible, does not warrant a ratio of that magnitude,
particularly in the absence of evidence showing intentional concealment of a
known or obvious safety risk.”
Plaintiff claimed use of the company’s Roundup weed killer contributed
to his developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Plaintiff testified he sprayed Roundup on poison oak and weeds for 26
years. His cancer, which was diagnosed
in 2015, is now in remission.
Two California state court cases against Monsanto have also
gone to trial. In 2018, a San Francisco
jury entered a $289 million verdict in favor of a former groundskeeper, which
was later reduced by the trial judge to $78 million. In May of this year, an Alameda County
Superior Court jury awarded a couple $55 million in compensatory damages and $2
billion in punitive damages. The Court
reduced the award to $17 million and $69 million, respectively.
Bayer AG, which acquired Monsanto last year, continues to defend more than 13,000 similar claims in the U.S. The first case to be tried outside of California is scheduled to begin in August in St. Louis, Missouri. Juries in this area are known for often hitting companies with large damages awards.
