RoundUp Weed Killer

In light of three consecutive verdicts totaling $2.2 billion in the U.S linking the weedkiller Roundup to cancer, the Australian firm Carbone Lawyers has filed a lawsuit against Roundup manufacturer Monsanto Co., while the Victoria State Government is launching an investigation into the use of glyphosate, the most commonly used herbicide globally and the main ingredient in Roundup.*

Melbourne-based Carbone Lawyers filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of Victoria against Monsanto on June 3 on behalf of self-employed gardener Michael Ogalirolo, 54, who is seeking damages against the company for his long-term use of Roundup. Ogalirolo claims the glyphosate-based weedkiller caused his blood cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which was diagnosed in 2011 and forced him to retire in 2015.*

Two other Australian firms are considering filing lawsuits against Monsanto. Sydney-based LHD Lawyers is considering a class action against Monsanto, which German pharmaceutical giant Bayer A.G. acquired in June last year for $63 billion, while local media reports say Melbourne-based Maurice Blackburn is evaluating individual cases.

Meanwhile, the Australian State of Victoria is investigating the use of glyphosate, including by Roundup, across its public land management, according to Melbourne-based newspaper The Age. The investigation, which is being conducted by Victoria's Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, is expected to last six weeks. It is the first by an Australian state government in the wake of a series of verdicts in U.S. courts, according to the newspaper.

The developments come about three weeks after Monsanto was hit with a $2.05 billion punitive damages verdict by a jury in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland, California – the largest U.S. jury verdict so far against the company over glyphosate's link to the same kind of blood cancer with the plaintiff in Australia. Previously, Monsanto was hit initially with a $289 million verdict in August, though that was reduced to $78.5 million; and $80 million in March, both in San Francisco.*

Bayer said it will appeal the $2.05 billion verdict.

Globally, a number of countries and jurisdictions have either banned the use of glyphosate or have restricted its use. These include Belgium, France, Italy, Canada, Argentina, Colombia, the Czech Republic and Denmark.

*Updated June 5: This article has been updated with Carbone Lawyers filing a lawsuit against Monsanto. The headline, first, second and fifth paragraphs have been changed to reflect that.

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