IN BRIEF: Bayer says US Supreme Court seeks government view in Durnell

Bayer AG - Leverkusen, Germany-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology company - Bayer notes the US Supreme Court asks the Solicitor General to provide the court with the views of the US government in the Durnell case, following a petition by Bayer's indirect subsidiary Monsanto in April 2025. "We see this request as an encouraging step and look forward to hearing the views of the government on FIFRA's federal preemption provision," says Bayer Chief Executive Bill Anderson. "The security and affordability of the food supply depend on companies' and farmers' ability to rely on decisions made by responsible federal regulatory authorities. When courts permit companies to be punished under state law for following federal law, it makes companies like ours a prime target of the litigation industry and threatens farmers and innovations that patients and consumers need for their nutrition and health."

In its petition, Bayer argues that a split among federal circuit courts in the roundup litigation warrants review and resolution by the country's top court. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously held in the Schaffner case that the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act expressly preempted the plaintiff's state claims based on failure-to-warn theories. The 9th and 11th Circuits and Missouri's intermediate appellate court in Durnell have reached different conclusions and the petition argues that both state and federal courts require guidance that only the US Supreme Court can provide. Durnell is the first case for which Monsanto has sought Supreme Court review since the Schaffner decision created a split among the federal circuit courts.

Once the Solicitor General provides its views, the Supreme Court will then make a decision on the company's petition during the 2025-2026 court session. If the court accepts the case, a decision on the merits could still happen during the court's next session which ends in June 2026. A positive ruling on the central, cross-cutting issue in the Roundup litigation - whether federal law preempts claims based on state failure-to-warn theories - could help to largely contain this litigation, Bayer says.

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By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter

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