Legal dispute over damages: Bayer suffers next defeat in court

Bayer has lost another court battle in the USA over the alleged health effects of the chemical PCB, which has been banned for decades. In the Rose case, the jury decided in favor of the company for 11 of 15 plaintiffs, the pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical company emphasized in a statement. Nevertheless, the defeat is a further setback in the company’s efforts to get the PCB disputes off the table.

Bayer share price fell moderately

The jury awarded the four remaining plaintiffs a total of $25 million in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitive damages. But more important than this case and groundbreaking for the entire case is a PCB appeal process that is scheduled to begin in February.

Bayer announced that it would appeal the verdict for the remaining four plaintiffs “in order to have the damages set aside or at least reduced.” Blood samples and air tests showed that there was hardly any PCB contamination. The case again concerned alleged health damage caused by PCBs in the Sky Valley Education Center (SVEC) school building. The plaintiffs blamed the substance for, among other things, brain damage.

In 1979 the chemical was banned in the USA

The PCB procedures are – like the billion-dollar dispute over the alleged cancer risks of the weed killer glyphosate – an expensive legacy of the US seed company Monsanto. Bayer took over this in 2018.

Monsanto is accused of having concealed the devastating consequences of toxic pollutants for decades. The company had manufactured the agent, which was used as a fire protection fluid in many electrical appliances and building materials, until 1977. In 1979 the chemical was banned in the USA.

Bayer still wants to be reimbursed for the costs of PCB litigation from former customers. A large number of buyers released Monsanto from liability in order to continue receiving PCBs in the 1970s. A corresponding lawsuit is ongoing.

Three teachers awarded $185 million in damages

Eyes are already turning to a PCB appeals process that is scheduled to begin in February before Washington state’s highest court, the Washington Supreme Court. This case also concerns an alleged PCB contamination in the Sky Valley Education Center. An appeals court initially overturned a judgment from 2021 in May last year. This awarded three teachers damages totaling $185 million (168.5 million euros).

But in the fall, the Washington Supreme Court decided to take up the matter. If the court rules in Bayer’s favor, it could reduce more than $1 billion in potential liability from other PCB cases, JPMorgan analyst Richard Vosser said recently. A decision is not expected until the middle of the year at the earliest, but the process could take up to twelve months.