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The Company will immediately engage with partners to discuss the future of glyphosate-based products in the US residential market.
Bayer has recently announced a series of actions it plans to implement following the denial of the motion to preliminarily approve the Roundup class settlement agreement, designed to address potential future litigation, by Judge Vince Chhabria of the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The new package of measures, which combine a number of legal and commercial actions, is designed to help the company achieve a level of risk mitigation that is comparable to the previously proposed national class solution.
The five-point plan includes:
- Creation and promotion of a new website with scientific studies relevant to Roundup’s safety, and a request that EPA approves the corresponding language on Roundup labels- This will include a reference link to the label for all Roundup products that will take consumers and professional users to a website the company will maintain and promote containing scientific studies relevant to the safety concerns at issue in the litigation.
- While the Company will remain in the residential lawn and garden market, it will immediately engage with partners to discuss the future of glyphosate-based products in the US residential market, as the overwhelming majority of claimants in the Roundup litigation allege that they used Roundup Lawn and Garden products.
- Future claims settlements and independent science advisory panel- The company will explore alternative solutions aimed at addressing potential future Roundup claims. Any such programs would help bring resolution to potential future claims brought by individuals.
- Ongoing efforts to settle existing claims will be reassessed- The company will continue to be open to settlement discussions, as long as claimants are qualified and resolutions can be reached on appropriate terms.
- Continuing appeals- While not new actions, the appeals of the Hardemanand Pilliod cases will continue through the legal process and can also help manage future liability risk.
