Roundup litigation remains one of the country’s most closely watched product liability battles. Plaintiffs contend that repeated exposure to glyphosate-based Roundup can cause or contribute to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, especially after years of use at home, at work, or in agricultural, landscaping, and groundskeeping settings. The cases involve dermal exposure while spraying, mixing, applying, or cleaning up the product. Plaintiffs have pointed to genotoxicity and oxidative stress as mechanisms of action relevant to carcinogenesis, and they have generally brought claims that Monsanto failed to adequately warn users and sold a product with an allegedly defective design. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans,” a finding plaintiffs continue to cite in Roundup cancer litigation. Monsanto, now owned by Bayer, continues to dispute that Roundup causes cancer and continues to challenge Roundup verdicts.
Juries in several Roundup/non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cases have returned plaintiff verdicts, although many awards have later been reduced, appealed, settled, or challenged. As of May 2026, reported plaintiff trial verdicts include Dewayne “Lee” Johnson, with about $39.2 million in compensatory damages and $250 million in punitive damages; Edwin Hardeman, with about $5.27 million compensatory and $75 million punitive; Alva and Alberta Pilliod, with more than $55 million compensatory and $2 billion punitive; John Durnell, with $1.25 million compensatory and no punitive damages; Mike Dennis, with $7 million compensatory and $325 million punitive; Ernest Caranci, with $25 million compensatory and $150 million punitive; Daniel Anderson, Jimmy and Brenda Draeger, and Valorie Gunther, with about $61.1 million compensatory and $1.5 billion punitive; Kelly Martel, with $500,000 compensatory and $3 million punitive; John McKivison, with $250 million compensatory and $2 billion punitive; William Melissen, with $3 million compensatory and $75 million punitive; and John Barnes, with $65 million compensatory and $2 billion punitive.
Philadelphia mass tort lawyer Matt Leckman of Leckman Law has firsthand experience in this litigation. He has litigated dozens of Roundup cases in both the MDL and state courts, tried three Roundup cases to jury verdict (Jones v. Monsanto, Cody v. Monsanto, and Young v. Monsanto), and resolved others through settlement. Seeing these cases through trial has given Mr. Leckman practical insight into the science, expert testimony, Monsanto’s defense arguments, causation disputes, and jury questions that shape Roundup litigation. That experience has helped shape his approach to later Roundup cases, including how to evaluate the evidence, anticipate trial issues, and pursue settlement when appropriate.
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