Pesticide and chemical manufacturers have descended on state legislators in Missouri with legislation to shield them from liability lawsuits filed by people injured from exposure to their products. The chemical industry is asking for immunity from lawsuits on adverse effects that are not fully disclosed and legislation has already moved through the Missouri House of Representatives.  

So far, the industry has successfully introduced its bill in at least four states. This activity is spurred on by the thousands of successful cases involving the weed killer Roundup/glyphosate that have resulted in large jury awards against Bayer/Monsanto in the billions of dollars. While sponsors of these bills claim that the labels on pesticide products provide sufficient warning of hazards, users have been misled by advertising that falsely touts product safety. In fact, pesticides are registered by EPA under standards of what the agency calculates as “acceptable” harm, despite the availability of less or nontoxic alternatives. Reminiscent of previous battles, the chemical industry is now leaning on elected officials, both in state legislatures and the U.S. Congress, to do its bidding in blocking, or preempting, court action.  

>>Tell your state legislators to protect the right of citizens to seek redress against pesticide manufacturers from harm caused by their products.  

In 1991, after losing the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Wisconsin Public Intervenor v. Mortier, which upheld the right of local governments to restrict pesticide use under federal pesticide law, the pesticide industry went to every state legislature to preempt local authority. Preemption language was quickly enshrined in the state law of 43 states. Now, after being rebuffed by the Supreme Court in 2022 in an attempt to overturn large liability judgments against Monsanto/Bayer for glyphosate hazards, the industry is asking state legislatures to block future liability for pesticide manufacturers whose products cause harm. So far, similar bills to limit liability have been introduced in four states, and more are expected.    

As an example of such legislation, a bill recently approved by the Missouri House will provide pesticide manufacturers with legal protection from “failure-to-warn" liability. This legal approach has been pivotal for those who have used pesticide products and are seeking redress because of harm caused.  

The Missouri House, by a slim margin, voted in favor of HB 2763. The companion bill, SB 1416, if passed by the Missouri Senate, will provide legal protection to pesticide manufacturers from “failure-to-warn" liability.  

While other causes of action are often pursued, the overwhelming majority of successful cases for pesticide injury lawsuits fall under “failure-to-warn" claims. Brigit Rollins, a National Agricultural Law Center staff attorney, describes this liability framework as “a type of civil tort that is frequently raised in product liability cases. Unlike negligence and design defect...failure to warn does not argue that a product has physical faults. Instead, a plaintiff typically raises failure to warn claims to allege that a product manufacturer failed to provide adequate warnings or instructions about the safe use of a product.” Under the new push in Missouri and several state legislatures, this legal framework would be moot, leaving victims around the United States without effective legal recourse and releasing industry actors such as Bayer/Monsanto from billions of dollars in ongoing and future settlements. As of 2022, Bayer settled over 1,000 lawsuits, paying out approximately $11 billion, and faces an additional 30,000 lawsuits now pending.  

Glyphosate litigation is a notable example of why the dependence on EPA's labels provides inadequate protection—in this case, for users of the pesticide, but also for neighboring farms, farmworkers and bystanders, consumers of contaminated food and water, and the biosphere. Legislators who choose to restrict the right of injured parties to seek recompense from pesticide manufacturers are doing their constituents a tremendous disservice. 

>>Tell your state legislators to protect the right of citizens to seek redress against pesticide manufacturers from harm caused by their products.

The target for this Action is the Missouri State Legislature.