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Supreme Court Considers Federal Preemption in Monsanto Roundup Cancer Lawsuit
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on April 27, 2026, in Monsanto Company v. Durnell, a case challenging state lawsuits over glyphosate cancer risks. Justices expressed divided views on federal preemption under FIFRA. The ruling, expected this summer, could affect thousands of similar claims against the Bayer-owned company.
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U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on April 27, 2026, in Monsanto Company v. Durnell, addressing whether federal pesticide regulations preempt state lawsuits claiming failure to warn about cancer risks from glyphosate in Roundup.
John Durnell filed a lawsuit against Monsanto Co. in 2019, arguing he developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma due to exposure to glyphosate, an active ingredient in Roundup. Durnell sprayed Roundup along weedy sidewalks and in public spaces in his St.
Louis neighborhood and is recovering from blood cancer after multiple rounds of chemotherapy. 25 million. The jury found Monsanto liable for failing to warn of the alleged cancer risk from glyphosate.
Monsanto appealed the 2023 jury decision. Monsanto argued that the EPA has not found a cancer link with glyphosate. Monsanto argued that it cannot legally add warning labels to Roundup under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
The Environmental Protection Agency has not found a link between glyphosate and higher cancer rates. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson suggested that new evidence could cast 'doubt on the efficacy or the safety of this product,' resulting in 'a product that is misbranded,' despite initially being registered and labeled correctly. Sarah Harris is a deputy solicitor general for the Justice Department.
The Justice Department filed an amicus brief in December. John Durnell's lawyer argued that the EPA had overreached its regulatory power. Monsanto is now owned by Bayer. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in February to promote glyphosate production.
Trump's executive order stated that lack of access to glyphosate-based herbicides would critically jeopardize agricultural productivity. Trump's executive order stated that glyphosate production is critical to America's food supply and national security. A group of Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement supporters gathered outside the Supreme Court on Monday for the 'People vs.
