Bayer Class Action Lawsuits and Settlement Amounts

Bayer’s class action exposure stems almost entirely from its $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto in 2018, and the Bayer class action lawsuits and settlement amounts now on the table fall into three buckets: a proposed $7.25 billion nationwide settlement to resolve Roundup cancer claims, a $38 million securities fraud settlement paid to investors, and a $650 million settlement with roughly 2,500 municipalities over PCB water pollution. The Roundup deal is by far the largest and remains contested, with a final fairness hearing scheduled for July 9, 2026.

The $7.25 Billion Roundup Cancer Settlement

Bayer and a group of six plaintiffs’ law firms filed the proposed class settlement on February 17, 2026, in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, Missouri (Case No. 2622-CC00325).¹ The agreement is structured as a long-term compensation program, with Monsanto making declining, capped annual payments over as many as 21 years.² Bayer does not admit liability.

The deal covers people exposed to Roundup before February 17, 2026, who have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma or who receive such a diagnosis within the next 16 years.² Two subclasses split those already diagnosed (or with a filed lawsuit or tolling agreement as of February 13, 2026) from “later claimants” who may be diagnosed in the future. Claimants must document diagnosis with a pathology report, blood test, or other reliable medical records signed by a licensed pathologist, oncologist, or hematologist. Multiple myeloma and most leukemias are excluded.³

How Much Individual Claimants Get

Payouts run on a grid keyed to three factors: whether exposure was occupational or residential, how aggressive the cancer is, and the claimant’s age at diagnosis. The highest average award, $165,000, goes to occupational users diagnosed before age 60 with aggressive NHL. Residential users in the same bracket average $40,000. The floor is $10,000 for claimants diagnosed at age 78 or older, regardless of exposure type or cancer severity.⁴ A “quick-pay” option offers residential claimants lower amounts for faster resolution. Class counsel are set to receive $675 million in fees from the fund.¹

Approval Status and Key Dates

Missouri Circuit Court Judge Timothy Boyer granted preliminary approval on March 4, 2026.⁵ That order stayed existing Roundup lawsuits in Missouri, triggered a nationwide notification program, and set the final fairness hearing for July 9, 2026. The opt-out and objection deadline was June 4, 2026. Eligible individuals are automatically included in the class unless they take affirmative steps to opt out, and Bayer reserves the right to terminate the settlement if opt-outs are “excessive.”²

Objections to the Roundup Deal

On May 21, 2026, attorney Ashley Keller of Keller Postman LLC and lawyers from the Tennessee firm Frazer PLC filed formal objections in St. Louis Circuit Court on behalf of 13 cancer patients.¹ Their filing alleged the settlement “runs roughshod over basic due process rights” and called the opt-out procedures “comically difficult for injured parties to exercise.”⁶

The objectors singled out the “futures” subclass, which would bind people not yet diagnosed, including children and individuals not yet born who may have merely observed someone using Roundup. They called such a class “unconstitutional and unprecedented in the annals of US jurisprudence.”⁶ The same filing described the deal as a “sweetheart deal” that hands $675 million to class counsel while offering cancer victims “a pittance,” and argued it functions as a “liability-management scheme” that shields Bayer from future jury trials without requiring cancer warnings on its products.⁷

On May 22, 2026, the objectors filed a notice of removal to shift the case to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (Case No. 26-cv-00813), arguing that the Missouri state court lacks authority to bind citizens of other states.¹ Monsanto moved on May 26 to send the case back to state court, calling the removal “baseless and untimely.”⁸

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria, who oversees the federal Roundup multidistrict litigation, offered public criticism at an April 2026 hearing, calling the deal “filthy,” “mind-boggling,” and “legally problematic.” He said Bayer’s lawyers had met with Judge Boyer on the filing day without public notice or a transcript, and that preliminary approval was granted without opposing counsel having an opportunity to be heard. Chhabria labeled the opt-out process “bizarre” and “onerous,” but noted that resolving these problems was not his role, pointing to Missouri appellate courts or the U.S. Supreme Court. Chhabria had rejected a smaller proposed $2 billion Roundup class settlement in his own court in 2021.⁹ Bayer has said objections are “common” in nationwide settlements and that the plan is “fair to all claimants.”⁶

The Supreme Court Case That Could Change Everything

Running in parallel is Monsanto Company v. Durnell (No. 24-1068), which the Supreme Court agreed to hear in January 2026. The question is whether the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act preempts state-law failure-to-warn claims when the EPA has not required a cancer warning and has concluded the product is not carcinogenic.¹⁰ Plaintiff John Durnell won a $1.25 million compensatory damages award at trial after alleging Monsanto was liable under Missouri law for failing to warn; a Missouri appeals court affirmed in February 2025. Oral arguments were held on April 27, 2026, with a decision expected by early July 2026.

A ruling for Monsanto could effectively block failure-to-warn claims nationwide, cutting the legal basis for many of the more than 100,000 pending Roundup lawsuits. Bayer has described the class settlement as “mutually reinforcing” with the Supreme Court review, designed to provide compensation regardless of the preemption outcome.² Objectors argue the timing pressures plaintiffs to accept relatively modest payments before the Supreme Court rules, when a decision against preemption would leave individual lawsuits intact.⁹

The $38 Million Securities Fraud Settlement

Bayer resolved a separate securities fraud class action brought by investors who purchased Bayer American Depositary Receipts between May 23, 2016, and July 6, 2020. Led by the Sheet Metal Workers National Pension Fund, plaintiffs alleged Bayer and certain executives made misleading statements about the thoroughness of pre-merger due diligence into Monsanto’s Roundup litigation risks. Bayer’s ADRs dropped in value as legal defeats mounted after the 2018 acquisition.¹¹

U.S. District Chief Judge Richard Seeborg in the Northern District of California granted final approval of a $38 million cash settlement on October 30, 2025. That figure represented roughly 9% of estimated maximum damages. Of the total, $10 million was allocated for attorneys’ fees and $3.3 million for litigation expenses. More than 278,000 notices went to class members, and over 153,000 claims were submitted before the final approval hearing.¹¹ Bayer denied wrongdoing.¹²

The $650 Million PCB Water Pollution Settlement

Bayer inherited liability for polychlorinated biphenyls, industrial chemicals Monsanto manufactured for decades before they were banned. Approximately 2,500 cities, counties, and ports sued, alleging PCB contamination damaged their stormwater systems and local waterways.¹³ Bayer announced a $650 million class settlement in June 2020. A federal judge initially rejected the deal in November 2020, citing the “broad scope of the release of legal liabilities” and concerns it would prevent state attorneys general from pursuing independent actions.¹⁴ Revised terms received court approval on November 19, 2022.

Several municipalities opted out and pursued individual settlements. Bayer reached separate agreements with Seattle in July 2024, Los Angeles in September 2024, and Chicago and Evanston in December 2025.¹³ The company continues to defend against remaining opt-out cases and lawsuits filed by state attorneys general over broader PCB contamination in schools and other properties.¹⁵

What to Watch Next

Two July 2026 events will define what happens to the Roundup settlement. The final fairness hearing is scheduled for July 9 before Judge Boyer in St. Louis, though whether the case stays in state court or moves to federal jurisdiction depends on the unresolved removal dispute.¹ The Supreme Court’s ruling in Durnell, also expected by early July, could either undercut the legal theory behind most pending Roundup lawsuits or leave the door open to continued individual trials. Bayer began transitioning its U.S. residential lawn and garden products away from glyphosate-based formulations starting in 2023, though its agricultural and professional Roundup products remain on the market.¹⁶

1
Reuters. Bayer’s $7.25 Billion Roundup Settlement Faces Court Objections
2
Bayer. Monsanto Announces Roundup Class Settlement Agreement
3
Weed Killer Class. Settlement Agreement
4
Drugwatch. Roundup Settlement Explained: Who Is Eligible and How the Opt-Out Process Works
5
The New Lede. Bayer Wins Preliminary Court Approval for Its Proposed Roundup Class Action Settlement
6
Investigate Midwest. Bayer’s Proposed Roundup Settlement Violates Constitution, New Legal Filing Claims
7
MinnPost. Bayer’s Proposed Roundup Settlement Violates Constitution, New Legal Filing Claims
8
Law.com. Monsanto Moves to Remand Roundup Settlement After Objectors Head to Federal Court
9
The New Lede. US Judge Calls Proposed Bayer Roundup Settlement a ‘Filthy Deal’
10
SCOTUSblog. Justices Debate Who Gets to Decide That Pesticide Labels Need a Cancer Warning
11
Courthouse News. Judge Approves $38 Million Class Action Settlement Over Monsanto Merger
12
Cohen Milstein. Bayer Securities Litigation
13
Bayer. Resolving US PCB Litigation
14
Claims Journal. Judge Rejects Bayer’s $650 Million PCB Settlement
15
The New Lede. GE, Bayer Blamed for Child’s Cancer in a Community Awash in PCB Pollution
16
Bayer. Managing the Roundup Litigation