Supreme Court blocks state Roundup cancer lawsuits

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, June 25, 2026, that federal law shields the maker of Roundup weedkiller from state-level lawsuits alleging the company failed to warn consumers about cancer risks. In a 7-2 decision, the justices overturned a $1.25 million jury verdict awarded to a Missouri man, a ruling expected to block a key legal pathway for tens of thousands of similar pending cases.

The case, Monsanto Co. v. Durnell, centered on John Durnell, who developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma after using Roundup for approximately two decades as a volunteer maintaining parks in St. Louis. He sued Monsanto, now owned by the German company Bayer, in 2019, arguing the company should have included a cancer warning on the product's label. A Missouri jury agreed in 2023, and a state appeals court upheld the verdict in 2025.

Writing for the majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh stated that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) gives the Environmental Protection Agency sole authority over pesticide labels. The EPA has repeatedly concluded that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans and has never required a cancer...