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A federal jury found Tuesday that Monsanto’s popular weedkiller Roundup was a “substantial factor” in causing a California man’s cancer, dealing a significant blow to the company as it aggressively defends its products against thousands of similar claims. The six-member jury delivered the unanimous verdict in the United States District Court in San Francisco, months after a groundskeeper who said Roundup caused his cancer was awarded about $80 million in a separate case in California. (Zaveri, 3/19)

Bayer, which denies allegations that glyphosate or Roundup cause cancer, in a statement on Tuesday said it was disappointed with the jury's initial decision. Bayer acquired Monsanto, the longtime maker of Roundup, for $63 billion last year. "We are confident the evidence in phase two will show that Monsanto's conduct has been appropriate and the company should not be liable for Mr. Hardeman's cancer," the company said. (3/20)

The jury returns Wednesday to hear evidence on whether Monsanto is legally responsible for Hardeman’s cancer and, if so, determine the amount of damages he should receive. The case is one of three “bellwether” trials scheduled before U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria and could establish guidelines for settlements of about 760 cases against Monsanto from around the nation that have been transferred to his court, and more than 10,000 pending elsewhere. (Egelko, 3/19)

Hardeman’s lawyers plan to discuss research on the harmful effects of glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup, in the second phase of the trial. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a part of the World Health Organization, reported in 2015 that the chemical likely causes cancer. However, the Environmental Protection Agency released an assessment in 2017 that concluded that glyphosate is not carcinogenic. (Chen, 3/19)

Analysts and investors had seen Bayer at an advantage in this second trial after U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria agreed to split the evidence into two phases, with the first focusing solely on whether Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate, are carcinogenic. In the first phase, jurors didn’t hear allegations that the company hid dangers about its product from the public. Bayer faces lawsuits in the U.S. from about 11,200 farmers, home gardeners and landscapers claiming its glyphosate-based herbicides cause non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other cancers. Six more trials are due to start this year in federal and state courts. (Randazzo and Bender, 3/20)

The first was on the state level, when 46-year-old Dewayne Johnson in California received an expedited trial because doctors said his terminal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was bringing him near death. While working as a groundskeeper for a school district near San Francisco, Johnson's attorneys said he applied Roundup weedkiller 20 to 30 times per year and had two accidents that resulted in him being soaked by the product. The first was two years before he was diagnosed with cancer. (Holcombe, 3/20)

Bayer AG slumped after a second major defeat in U.S. litigation over claims that its Roundup weed killer causes cancer, shaving almost $8 billion from its market value and raising the likelihood of a costly settlement. The legal woes Bayer inherited with its acquisition of Monsanto Co. have hammered the company’s share price, which has dropped almost 30 percent since the $63 billion transaction was clinched in June, even as the company insists that the active ingredient in the herbicide is safe. (Rosenblatt and Loh, 3/19)