ST. LOUIS — A federal judge has returned Bayer AG’s proposed $7.25 billion settlement of Roundup weedkiller lawsuits to Missouri state court, overruling objections from some plaintiffs who sought to move the case to federal court.
U.S. District Judge Henry Edward Autrey in St. Louis issued the ruling on Wednesday, siding with Bayer and concluding that the objecting plaintiffs lacked authority to transfer the case, according to court documents and reports. Only the defendant may remove a case to federal court.
The decision sends the proposed class-action settlement back to the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, where it received preliminary approval in March. The settlement aims to resolve current and future claims alleging that exposure to the glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, has faced tens of thousands of lawsuits over Roundup. The company has denied that the product causes cancer when used as directed and maintains that regulatory agencies worldwide have found glyphosate safe for its intended use.
In a statement, Bayer welcomed the federal court’s decision. “This decision returns jurisdiction over the class settlement to Missouri Circuit Court where the vast majority of pending claims in the Roundup litigation have been filed,” the company said.
Some plaintiffs and their attorneys have objected to the settlement, arguing it may not adequately compensate victims or properly bind future claimants. Certain objectors had attempted to move the matter to federal court in San Francisco, where U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria has previously expressed concerns about aspects of the proposed deal.
Attorneys for objecting plaintiffs have already filed an appeal of Wednesday’s ruling, court records show. Details on the timeline for further proceedings in state court remain unclear.
The proposed settlement was announced earlier in 2026 and covers both existing claims and potential future ones. Missouri state court proceedings have drawn significant attention because many Roundup cases have been filed or consolidated there.
Bayer has said the agreement, if finalized, would resolve the bulk of the litigation. However, some plaintiffs’ lawyers not involved in the settlement negotiations have criticized its terms and the process.
The federal judge’s order does not address the merits of the settlement itself, which still requires final approval from the Missouri state court. The company continues to face ongoing trials and appeals in other jurisdictions.
As of Thursday, Bayer shares rose following the news. The full impact on individual claimants and the broader litigation will depend on subsequent state court rulings.
