The Supreme Court is seeking input from the nation's top lawyer before deciding whether to take up a petition sought by Bayer on the reach of federal pesticide law. In a brief order issued today, the high court invited the Office of the Solicitor General to express "the views of the United States" on the petition submitted by Bayer, which the Supreme Court is considering.
 
The Bayer petition seeks review of a Missouri Court of Appeals decision that upheld a $1.25 million verdict against Bayer in a case brought by a man who claimed exposure to Roundup herbicide caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
 
Bayer has been fighting lawsuits asserting those claims in state and federal courts, with mixed success. About 114,000 Roundup cases have either been settled or are "not eligible for various reasons” as of Jan. 31, according to Bayer's 2024 annual report, leaving about 67,000 awaiting action. The company spent about $10 billion to settle about 100,000 of those claims and has set aside $5.9 billion for future cases. Bayer has said it may get out of the glyphosate business altogether if it can’t resolve the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act preemption issue.