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 In the latest stage of a decade-long legal tussle, the appeals court
in Lyon on Thursday found in favor of farmer Paul Francois' claim
that Monsanto's Lasso weedkiller had made him sick and that the
product's labeling had been inadequate.
Francois, 55, says he suffered neurological problems, including
memory loss, fainting and headaches, after accidentally inhaling
Lasso in 2004 while working on his farm.
"Mr Francois justifiably concludes that the product, due to its
inadequate labeling that did not respect applicable regulations, did
not offer the level of safety he could legitimately expect," the
court said in its ruling.
The latest verdict, however, did not determine compensation for the
farmer, which will now be considered by another court in Lyon.
Francois is seeking about 1 million euros ($1.1 million) in damages.
Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in a $63 billion deal last year, said
it was considering its legal options, including an appeal before
France's highest court.
The German chemicals group added that crop-protection products "do
not pose a risk for human health if they are used according to the
terms of use set out in their regulatory approval".
Mr Francois had won rulings against Monsanto in 2012 and 2015 before
France's top court overturned the decisions and ordered the new
hearing in Lyon.
"We are all happy to have won but it came at a heavy price,"
Francois told reporters in Paris.
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"It's a big sigh of relief. It's been 12 years of fighting, 12 years
during which I had to put my whole life on hold."
Lasso was banned in France in 2007 after the product had been
withdrawn in some other countries.
It used a different active substance to glyphosate, the chemical
contained in Monsanto's best-selling weedkiller Roundup and the
target of lawsuits in the United States over alleged cancer links.
The company has been found liable in two trials in California
brought by cancer sufferers who have been awarded tens of millions
of dollars in damages. Bayer is appealing against those rulings.
The legal troubles surrounding glyphosate have contributed to Bayer
losing about 30 billion euros in market value since last August. The
group's chief executive on Thursday said it was "massively affected"
by the litigation.
After the announcement of the decision, Bayer's shares extended a
fall to trade about 1.5 percent down before recovering some of the
losses.
($1 = 0.8874 euros)
(Reporting by Catherine Lagrange in Lyon, Simon Carraud and Gus
Trompiz in Paris; Additional reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide;
Editing by Jane Merriman and David Goodman)
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