Bayer’s Monsanto Wins Reversal of $185 Million PCBs Verdict in Washington Court
May 2, 2024 | Source: Reuters | by Clark Mindock
A Washington state appeals court overturned on Wednesday a $185 million verdict against Bayer’s (BAYGn.DE), opens new tab Monsanto unit over chemical contamination at a Seattle-area school, marking the second big legal win for the company in as many weeks.
Monsanto spinoff Pharmacia, which sold now-banned chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), was found liable in 2021. Three teachers claimed they suffered brain damage from PCBs that leaked from light fixtures at the Sky Valley Education Center (SVEC) in Monroe, Washington.
On Wednesday, the state Court of Appeals agreed with Bayer that the lower court improperly applied the laws of Missouri, where Monsanto is based, which allowed the claims to be filed decades after the company stopped producing PCBs in 1977.
The U.S. government outlawed the chemicals in 1979 after discovering links to cancer.
U.S. litigation over PCBs, and more importantly over an alleged cancer-causing effect of weedkiller glyphosate, have weighed heavily on Bayer’s shares.