Crop protection giant Bayer on Tuesday proposed a settlement worth up to $7.25 million to resolve thousands of current and future lawsuits that claim the company’s Roundup weedkiller caused cancer.
The settlement, filed in a state court in St. Louis, Mo., would create a long-term claims program funded by capped annual payments for up to 21 years. Bayer is facing claims about Roundup from more than 65,000 plaintiffs in both state and federal courts.
Many of the lawsuits claim the plaintiffs developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma or other cancers after using the weedkiller at home or on the job.
Bayer had previously shelled out about $10 billion to settle most of the Roundup lawsuits that were pending as of 2020, but the company failed to get a settlement covering future cases.
Roundup and glyphosate in general are important products to no-tillers, strip-tillers and those who seed cover crops, according to the 2025 No-Till Farmer Operational Benchmark Study. But resistance issues have caused challenges in controlling some weeds.
Some 94% use glyphosate to terminate cover crops. Nearly 85% use glyphosate in their weed control program for soybeans, along with various other chemistries, and 83% do the same for corn. A little more than half of soybean growers used Roundup Ready soybeans last year, and about 75% used Roundup Ready corn.
Reuters reported that the proposed settlement covers the bulk of lawsuits, but requires a judge’s approval and a minimum number of plaintiffs to opt in. Bayer would not admit liability or wrongdoing and the company could back out if too many plaintiffs decline to participate, the news agency said.
The agreement was negotiated with Motley Rice, Seeger Weiss and other law firms that would represent a nationwide class of plaintiffs, if the court allows the deal to proceed, Reuters noted.
Attorneys who negotiated on behalf of the plaintiffs said the deal represents the best path forward. Payouts will be determined by a tiered system that considers exposure, age at diagnosis and cancer type. Individuals could receive up to $198,000 or more, according to attorney Eric Holland.
The proposed settlement comes after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal in a case that Bayer argues will sharply limit its liability in the litigation.
The case, scheduled for oral arguments at the end of April, remains essential to resolving the Roundup litigation, Bayer said.
