Pasadena’s 2019 Roundup Battles Echo in New $7.25 Billion National Settlement

Bayer, the parent company of Monsanto, has proposed a nationwide class-action settlement of up to $7.25 billion to resolve claims that the weed killer Roundup causes cancer, a development that brings a national financial reckoning to an issue that exploded into controversy in Pasadena in 2019.

The proposed settlement, filed in St. Louis Circuit Court in Missouri, aims to compensate current and future U.S. claimants who were exposed to Roundup and developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma. This move follows years of litigation and massive jury verdicts against the company, and it recalls a series of local incidents that led to the banning of the herbicide by the City of Pasadena, Los Angeles County, and Caltech.

In a press release, Monsanto stated the agreement is “designed to resolve current and future Roundup™ claims alleging Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) injuries through a long-term claims program.” The company will make payments over as many as 21 years to fund the program, which covers individuals exposed to the product before Feb. 17, 2026.

For many in Pasadena, this national settlement will be a reminder of the spring and summer of 2019, when the use of Roundup by public agencies sparked widespread local concern.

The controversy was ignited in March 2019 after reports that Los Angeles County workers were spraying the herbicide near a heliport in a residential Northeast Pasadena neighborhood. The issue gained further traction when it was revealed that county crews were also using Roundup as part of the sediment removal project at Devil’s Gate Dam, raising fears of water supply contamination.

These events prompted swift action. Following a public outcry and advocacy led by L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the Board of Supervisors first placed a temporary moratorium on the chemical before voting in May 2019 to permanently ban glyphosate-based products on County property.

That same summer, in July 2019, another controversy erupted after it was revealed that a landscaper had used a generic version of Roundup in a playground and courtyard at a Caltech graduate housing complex, exposing children and parents to the chemical. In response, Caltech banned the use of such pesticides for weed management at its student housing facilities.

The City of Pasadena had already stopped using Roundup on its own properties in 2018.

Bayer’s proposed settlement is part of a two-pronged legal strategy. The company is simultaneously asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on whether federal pesticide labeling laws preempt the state-law failure-to-warn claims that are the basis of most Roundup lawsuits. In a statement, Bayer CEO Bill Anderson said the settlement and the Supreme Court case provide “an essential path out of the litigation uncertainty.”

Despite the multi-billion-dollar settlement proposal, Monsanto’s press release noted that the company continues to stand by the safety of Roundup, citing regulatory clearance from the Environmental Protection Agency. This position stands in contrast to multiple jury verdicts that have found the product was a substantial factor in causing plaintiffs’ cancer and that Monsanto failed to provide adequate warnings.

Lead plaintiff law firms, including Holland Law Firm, announced the settlement filing, framing it as a significant step toward providing compensation and closure for thousands of victims across the country.