Monsanto vows appeal after losing Roundup cancer claim case, ordered to pay $2B in damages

A California jury reportedly ruled in favor of a couple on Monday who alleged that Roundup weed killer triggered their cancer diagnoses, ultimately finding Monsanto responsible and ordering them to pay billions in damages.

Alva and Alberta Pilliod, who launched the legal action against the Bayer-owned company, will collectively receive $2.05 billion, The Associated Press reported. They were both found to have non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Bayer released a statement following the jury’s decision, vowing to fight back. The company argued that the ruling runs against what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said most recently about the chemical.

“Bayer is disappointed with the jury's decision and will appeal the verdict in this case, which conflicts directly with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's interim registration review decision released just last month, the consensus among leading health regulators worldwide that glyphosate-based products can be used safely and that glyphosate is not carcinogenic, and the 40 years of extensive scientific research on which their favorable conclusions are based,” the company said.

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The EPA reaffirmed its position in April, saying that the active ingredient glyphosate found in the weed killer posed "no risks of concern" for people exposed to it by any means.

The decision Monday marked the third defeat in court for Monsanto in California since August.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.