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KWM floats possible Aussie Roundup litigation
There is a future possibility of claims and class actions being brought in Australian courts regarding use of Roundup weed killer, according to several BigLaw partners.
Grace Ormsby
A King & Wood Mallesons insights piece has looked at last month’s Californian ruling where a court ordered Monsanto, the company behind Roundup weed killer, to pay more than US$2 billion in damages to two individuals diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in a jury trial.
While it was noted that this amount is likely to be reduced on appeal due to the ratio of punitive to compensatory damages exceeding maximum limits set in previous US Supreme Court rulings, it was also flagged that given such trends, “users of glyphosate based products need to be aware of potential risks and actively monitor the emerging regulatory landscape”.
More than 13,000 Roundup related cases are currently pending in US courts, the article said.
King & Wood Mallesons’ lawyers warned that despite a consideration by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority as to the safety of glyphosate when used in accordance with labelled instructions, and a recent inquiry into the assessment used for such a determination, such approval “is not a bar to litigation”.
The lawyers explained that there is a possibility of claims, including possible class actions, based on similar premises to the ongoing US litigation, which has been focused on manufacturers, and not users.
They also flagged the possibility of test cases arising, related to direct use or downstream impacts resulting from contamination of land.
According to the ‘Insights’ article, more than $400 million of glyphosate-based products are sold in Australia each year.
King & Wood Mallesons has acknowledged the low likelihood of damages being awarded at the “magnitude seen in the US cases”, the relatively uncommon existence of failure to warn cases, and the more difficult legal tests for negligence and causation.
However, it was then highlighted that “some local government authorities have moved to reduce reliance on glyphosate herbicides following the US litigation, and Cancer Council Australia has called for a formal independent review of glyphosate’s carcinogenicity”.
Also of concern is that the “continued publicity around the risks associated with glyphosate and adverse findings made in the course of US litigation may compel Australian regulators to reconsider their position”.
