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The
company said in motions filed in San Francisco's Superior Court
of California that the jury's decision was insufficiently
supported by the evidence presented at trial by school
groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson.
Johnson's case, filed in 2016, was fast-tracked for trial due to
the severity of his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the
lymph system, that he alleged was caused by years of exposure to
Roundup and Ranger Pro, another Monsanto herbicide that contains
glyphosate.
Monsanto asked Superior Court Judge Suzanne Bolanos, who oversaw
the trial, to set aside the verdict or, in the alternative,
reduce the award or grant a new trial. A hearing on the motions
is set for Oct. 10.
The company, which denies the allegations, has previously said
it would appeal the verdict if necessary.
Johnson's case was the first to go to trial over allegations
that glyphosate causes cancer. Monsanto is facing some 8,000
similar lawsuits across the United States.
Shares in Bayer, which bought Monsanto this year for $63
billion, slid following the Aug. 10 jury decision and the stock
was still trading some 20 percent below its pre-verdict value of
73.30 euros ($85.45) on Tuesday.
"The jury's decision is wholly at odds with over 40 years of
real-world use, an extensive body of scientific data and
analysis ... which support the conclusion that glyphosate-based
herbicides are safe for use and do not cause cancer in humans,"
Bayer said in a statement on Tuesday.
Bayer said Johnson failed to prove glyphosate caused his cancer
and the scientific evidence he presented at trial "fell well
below the causation standard required under California law."
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in September 2017
concluded a decades-long assessment of glyphosate risks and
found the chemical is not a likely carcinogen to humans.
However, the cancer unit of the World Health Organization in
2015 classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans."
The jury found Monsanto failed to warn Johnson and other
consumers of the cancer risks posed by its weed-killers. It
awarded $39 million in compensatory and $250 million in punitive
damages.
The company in its motion for a new trial also said statements
by lawyers for Johnson inflamed and inappropriately influenced
the jurors. Some legal experts have said Monsanto faces long
odds on appeal on those grounds.
(Reporting by Tina Bellon; Editing by Tom Brown)
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