$3.5 Million Verdict Against Bayer for Roundup-Linked Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Won by Williams Hart & Boundas.
A Philadelphia jury returned a $3.5 million verdict for Kelly Martel in December 2023, finding Monsanto's Roundup weed killer caused her non-Hodgkin lymphoma after more than fifteen years of exposure. The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the judgment in full in 2025.
What happened
From 1998 through 2014, Kelly Martel used Ready-to-Use Roundup to control weeds at three different properties. In 2020, she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system. She filed suit against Monsanto (now owned by Bayer) and Nouryon Chemicals, the surfactant supplier, arguing that the herbicide was unreasonably dangerous and that neither company had adequately warned consumers of the cancer risk.
Her short-form complaint was filed in Philadelphia's coordinated Roundup mass tort docket, and the case moved to trial over sixteen days in late 2023. John Boundas, Walt Cubberly, Margret Lecocke, and Conor Cathey of Williams Hart & Boundas served on the plaintiff's trial team, working alongside Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel, Scott Frieling of Allen Stewart, P.C., and Rosemary Pinto of Feldman and Pinto as co-counsel.
At trial, the plaintiff's team presented scientific literature linking glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, to an elevated risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Counsel also introduced evidence about other components of the Roundup formulation and their combined effects. Monsanto countered that Martel's history of smoking was the more probable cause of her cancer. The jury deliberated for nearly two days.
In December 2023, the jury returned a verdict for Martel: $500,000 in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages, for a total of $3.5 million. The jury apportioned 92.5 percent of fault to Monsanto and 7.5 percent to Nouryon, making Monsanto's share of the compensatory award $462,500. It was among a string of consecutive multimillion-dollar losses for Bayer in Roundup litigation at that point.
The trial court entered judgment of $3,544,363.01 including delay damages. Monsanto appealed, and on June 25, 2025, the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the judgment in full (No. J-A12020-25), rejecting Monsanto's arguments on forum, federal preemption, causation, and the alleged excessiveness of punitive damages. No reduction was ordered.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
- 1.Martel v. Monsanto, Pennsylvania Superior Court No. J-A12020-25 (June 25, 2025), court opinion affirming the judgment ($3.5 million verdict·Archived copy
- 2.Law360, 'Monsanto Stuck With $3.5M Roundup Verdict After Appeal' (June 2025)
- 3.Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel, independently identifying Williams, Hart & Boundas as joint counsel for Kelly Martel alongside Allen Stewart, P.C.·Archived copy
- 4.Drugwatch (December 2023), report on the Martel verdict·Archived copy
- 5.Claims Journal (December 2023), independent insurance-industry trade press report on the $3.5 million Roundup verdict against Bayer in Philadelphia·Archived copy
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