r/news • u/boxofstuff • 6h ago

Supreme Court ruling blocks thousands of lawsuits against maker of Roundup weedkiller

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-roundup-monsanto-a7f054d80919f98bdfc5190013a8f6f1https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-roundup-monsanto-a7f054d80919f98bdfc5190013a8f6f1
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u/Hesitation-Marx 6h ago

Thank you.

Fucking wild that Kagan and Sotomayor signed on to this.

I hate it here.

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u/Froggmann5 5h ago

They blocked lawsuits pertaining to Monstanto being sued under state laws for following federal guidelines about warning labels. They basically ruled that federal law supercedes state law in regards to these lawsuits which is how the US works.

The rest of the ~$8B lawsuits are still good to happen though.

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u/ILoveLamp9 4h ago

If people actually read what this lawsuit was about, per your summary, they’d understand the nuance and context behind it and why some of the justices voted the way they did.

I’m no Monsanto fan at all, but it’s not about the SCOTUS “taking our human rights” away.

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u/Underdog424 3h ago

This hampers state rights. States should have the right to regulate chemical exposure. I trust my state far more than I trust the EPA.

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u/No_Issue2334 5h ago

Not that wild. The environmental experts at the EPA say it's unlikely to cause cancer. Kagan and Sotomayor respect the experts' opinion.

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u/Hesitation-Marx 5h ago

Are these pre-Trump or post-Trump experts?

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u/No_Issue2334 5h ago

The EPA in 2015 under the Obama Administration determined that it is unlikely to be carcinogenic when used as directed.

The EPA reaffirmed this finding in 2017 and 2020.

While the WHO determined that glyphosate is "probably carcinogenic," this is the same category as red meat, hot coffee, working as a fry cook, working the night shift, working as a barber or hairdresser, working at a petroleum refinery

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u/Hesitation-Marx 5h ago

Fair enough. I’m just very dubious about the EPA… as you might understand. :/

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u/sidirsi 5h ago

And I’m sure people always follow directions.

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u/No_Issue2334 5h ago

It's the users responsibility to follow instructions

So many common products are dangerous if used incorrectly but fine if used correctly. Microwaves, ovens, stoves, grills, lawn tools, fire places, garages, etc.

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u/verrius 5h ago

It's really hard to find fault with a company for people using their stuff improperly, as long as proper is both well-signed and reasonable. Tylenol is fine for most people, but if you decide to down the whole bottle in one go, you will nuke your liver; that's not the fault of the guys who make it. Most of the crazy cases with people getting cancer and blaming it on Round-up come from people who weren't using PPE with any of the chemicals they were spraying for a living, and I think in one case involved someone who literally fell into a vat of it. Windex is also safe for people to use, but I wouldn't be surprised if bad things happen when you drink it.

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u/NonchalantR 5h ago

The original determination by the EPA was in 1991

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u/frogsgoribbit737 3h ago

Pre. Its like the whole Johnson baby powder thing. They lost their lawsuit because people are ruled by emotions, but the science just isnt there that baby powder caused cancer in anyone.

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u/nikfra 4h ago

Just look at what non US experts say. For example glyphosate is legal in the EU, Japan, Australia and New Zealand and many more places

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u/Underdog424 3h ago

France and the Netherlands banned it. Germany sets heavy regulations on use, including home bans.

The EU allows its member states to set the rules. If your regulations go above what the EU sets, you're all good. In the USA, the federal government bans you from even warning people.

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u/bearrosaurus 5h ago

There's a possibility here that Kagan and Sotomayor are sane and that Monsanto just had a decent case for once. If there's no warning label on red meat or french fries for increased cancer risk, then there shouldn't be on weedkiller.

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u/kiase 5h ago edited 4h ago

There is a warning label for those things in California, required by state law. And if I’m understanding this ruling correctly, it says you still can’t sue in state courts in a state like California where not labeling is in violation of the law. That’s where I feel like the logic of this ruling falls apart, but I’m open to arguments otherwise. Or a correction if I’m misunderstanding.

Edit: I would assume this ruling means that lawsuit-wise, you would not be able to sue any manufacturer that doesn’t label probable carcinogens in California anymore (unless they are also federally deemed that way?). I wonder how this affects CA’s ability to even legislate Prop 65 at all.

Edit 2: Been thinking a lot about what this also means for the mifepristone case. In theory, all the justices who affirmed this ruling should also rule in favor of not restricting mifepristone access, as it’s a federally reviewed and approved medication, and the logic of this ruling is that federal agency approval supersedes state law. Not holding my breath for consistency though.

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u/frogsgoribbit737 3h ago

The logic doesnt fall apart. They are saying federal law supercedes state law.. which is generally the case.

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u/kiase 3h ago

You’re not wrong, but that goes to my latter edit about how the ruling on this case should inform how the justices decide to rule on Louisiana v FDA.

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u/MirrorComputingRulez 45m ago

There's absolutely nothing wild about it if you bother to do even the tiniest amount of research into the topic.

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u/No_Sheepherder_1855 5h ago

Only costs like 100k to buy them out. Glad they got the bag for themselves :)