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The roundup lawsuit timeline covers nearly a decade of legal battles that have reshaped product liability law and cost companies billions. Key milestones include:
Major Timeline Events:
For millions who used Roundup, this timeline is about real people who developed Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and sought answers about the link between their cancer and glyphosate exposure.
The legal journey began after the International Agency for Research on Cancer's controversial 2015 classification. This sparked thousands of lawsuits against Monsanto (later acquired by Bayer), claiming the company failed to warn about cancer risks.
What followed were landmark trials, massive settlements, and ongoing scientific debates that have fundamentally changed how we view corporate responsibility and product warnings. As the founder of Justice Hero, Tim Burd has experience in mass tort litigation, offering unique insight into how these complex cases unfold.
Roundup lawsuit timeline definitions:
In 1974, Monsanto introduced Roundup, a herbicide that revolutionized weed control for farmers and gardeners. Its effectiveness stemmed from its active ingredient glyphosate, a chemical that targets a specific enzyme essential for plant survival, making it a powerful broad-spectrum weed killer.
In the 1990s, Monsanto further solidified its market dominance with "Roundup Ready" crops. These genetically modified seeds were engineered to resist glyphosate, allowing farmers to spray entire fields, killing only the weeds.
This innovation led to a massive uptick in use, making Roundup a household name and glyphosate the most heavily used herbicide in history. For nearly three decades, the product's safety was rarely questioned, and its popularity soared.
When Monsanto's patent expired in 2000, generic versions of glyphosate flooded the market, making the chemical even more widespread. During this period of peak usage, few could have imagined that the roundup lawsuit timeline was on the horizon. This widespread exposure to glyphosate would later become a central point in thousands of lawsuits that shook the agricultural industry.
March 2015 marked a pivotal moment. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization, issued a bombshell report. After reviewing published scientific literature, IARC classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans," placing it in its Group 2A category.
This classification indicated strong evidence that glyphosate could cause cancer, with the most significant links pointing to Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The IARC's finding directly contradicted safety assurances from Monsanto and the Environmental Protection Agency, which maintained that glyphosate was not likely to be carcinogenic. This conflict created confusion and concern among consumers and provided the scientific backing for legal action.
The lawsuits that followed centered on Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL), a cancer of the lymphatic system. A 2019 independent meta-analysis became a cornerstone of the litigation, finding that agricultural workers with high glyphosate exposure had a 41% increased risk of developing NHL. Common symptoms of NHL include swollen lymph nodes, persistent fever, night sweats, and unexplained weight loss.
The IARC's 2015 classification opened the floodgates for litigation. To manage the thousands of cases filed nationwide, the federal court system created a Multidistrict Litigation (MDL). The Roundup MDL was established in the Northern District of California to handle pretrial proceedings for all federal cases.
The core legal allegations were failure to warn (arguing Monsanto knew of cancer risks but didn't inform consumers) and negligence (claiming Monsanto was careless in the design, testing, and marketing of Roundup). The formation of the MDL consolidated these individual claims into a powerful, coordinated legal effort, setting the stage for the landmark trials to come.
In 2018, the roundup lawsuit timeline escalated when Bayer acquired Monsanto in 2018 for $63 billion, inheriting its mounting legal troubles. In the ensuing bellwether trials (test cases), plaintiffs' attorneys presented scientific studies and internal "Monsanto Papers." These documents were brought to public attention and suggested the company engaged in ghostwriting scientific articles to downplay cancer risks. Bayer's defense relied on regulatory approvals, arguing the science did not prove a causal link.
The first major trial involved groundskeeper Dewayne "Lee" Johnson, who developed terminal Non-Hodgkin lymphoma after extensive Roundup use. In August 2018, a San Francisco jury awarded him a landmark $289 million verdict, finding that Monsanto had failed to warn him of the risks. Though the verdict was later reduced to $20.5 million, it was a monumental victory for plaintiffs.
The first federal trial in the MDL involved Edwin Hardeman, who claimed Roundup caused his cancer after decades of use. In March 2019, a federal jury awarded him an $80 million verdict. After appeals, which the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear, the final verdict was reduced to $25 million, confirming that federal juries also found Roundup to be a cause of cancer.
Two months later, a California couple, Alva and Alberta Pilliod, who both developed NHL after decades of Roundup use, received a staggering $2 billion verdict. The jury awarded $55 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages. The award was later reduced to $87 million, but the massive initial verdict demonstrated the jury's outrage and placed immense pressure on Bayer to settle the thousands of remaining cases.
Facing three devastating trial losses and immense pressure from investors, Bayer shifted its strategy from fighting individual cases to seeking a comprehensive settlement. In June 2020, the company announced a historic $10.9 billion settlement to resolve the majority of the 95,000 to 125,000 existing Roundup claims.
This agreement included a $1.25 billion fund to address future claims. In a significant move, Bayer also announced it would stop selling glyphosate-based products for residential use in the U.S. by 2023, citing litigation risk as the primary driver for the decision.
Despite the mass settlement, the roundup lawsuit timeline continues. Not all plaintiffs accepted the settlement, and new cases have been filed. In January 2024, a Pennsylvania jury awarded plaintiff John McKivison $2.25 billion after finding his NHL was caused by Roundup. This verdict was later reduced to $404 million but signaled that juries remain sympathetic to plaintiffs.
As of April 2025, the Roundup MDL still has 4,415 open cases, while approximately 113,000 cases have been resolved. These ongoing lawsuits mean Bayer continues to face legal and financial uncertainty, with each new trial posing the risk of another large verdict.
Here are answers to the most common questions about the Roundup litigation.
Yes, but with a major change for home use. The original glyphosate-based Roundup is still available for professional and agricultural markets. However, Bayer phased out glyphosate-based products for the U.S. residential market by 2023. The Roundup products now sold in garden centers for home use contain different active ingredients.
The primary health issue at the center of the roundup lawsuit timeline is Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), a cancer of the lymphatic system. The litigation hinges on the scientific debate between the IARC, which classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic," and the EPA, which maintains it is not likely to be carcinogenic. Juries have repeatedly found the evidence linking Roundup to NHL to be compelling.
There is no federal ban in the U.S., but the global and local picture is mixed. Some countries, like France and Austria, have banned or severely restricted glyphosate. In January 2019, France banned Roundup 360. Many U.S. cities, counties, and school districts have also stopped using glyphosate on public property. However, a federal court blocked California's attempt to require a Prop 65 cancer warning label on glyphosate products.
The roundup lawsuit timeline is a powerful story of accountability, from the 2015 WHO cancer agency warning to the billion-dollar verdicts that forced a corporate giant to the negotiating table. Landmark cases for plaintiffs like Dewayne Johnson, Edwin Hardeman, and the Pilliods paved the way for the historic $10.9 billion settlement in 2020.
However, the litigation is not over. The recent $2.25 billion verdict for John McKivison in 2024 (reduced to $404 million) and the 4,415 cases still open as of April 2025 show that the legal battle continues. For Bayer, the acquisition of Monsanto has proven to be one of the costliest in corporate history, with legal costs far exceeding the initial $63 billion purchase price.
The future of Roundup litigation will likely involve more trials and continued pressure on Bayer to resolve the remaining claims. The scientific debate over glyphosate's safety will also continue to influence legal and regulatory landscapes.
At Justice Hero, we believe everyone deserves access to justice. The Roundup litigation proves that with strong legal representation, individuals can hold corporations accountable. If you or a loved one developed Non-Hodgkin lymphoma after using Roundup, the window to file a claim may still be open.
Find out if you qualify for a Roundup lawsuit and take the first step toward understanding your legal options. We are here to help guide you through the process.
