“The Supreme Court on Thursday restricted a massive wave of lawsuits claiming the chemical giant Monsanto had a duty to warn consumers of alleged cancer risks from the world’s most popular weed killer, Roundup.”
“The decision turned on a technical legal question, but one with enormous stakes. On the line are billions of dollars, the fate of tens of thousands of lawsuits filed by cancer victims and the future of an herbicide farmers say is crucial to the nation’s food supply but health groups warn is a danger.”
“In an 8-1 decision, the justices ruled that federal law preempts cancer victims from bringing lawsuits against Monsanto in state courts, where most such claims are filed.”
So it became a question of jurisdiction, not on the merits of the claims?
“Monsanto asked the Supreme Court to immunize it from nonfederal lawsuits. The company argues the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), which regulates the sale and marketing of pesticides and herbicides, preempts state-court claims.”
Ah, so it’s our old pal the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, (Article VI, paragraph 2) and Cornell University explains this very well:
The Supremacy Clause underpins the broader doctrine of preemption, where if laws are in conflict, the law of a higher authority can preempt the law of a lower authority if the superiority of the former is stated expressly or implied. Traditionally, when it is not indicated, federal law does not preempt state law in areas traditionally regulated by states, unless Congress’s intent to preempt is clear. In areas where the federal government has historically significant regulatory involvement, preemption is less likely to apply. Today, disputes usually involve statutory interpretation rather than its scope of application.
So because a federal law exists, it takes priority over state claims, cancer be damned.
And what makes it so completely outrageous?
“A Missouri jury has told us that a cancer label that is not required to be put on the label is required to be put on the label,” [Paul Clement, Monsanto’s attorney] said.
It came down to the wording on a label to block a remedy for cancer patients.
I’m not sure (and legal beagles, please correct me), but I think that they can re-file in Federal Court, but then it is starting the whole process over, and meanwhile a lot of suffering (and probably some casualties) will ensue, and Monsanto can keep the money earning interest somewhere.
Published with permission of Mock Paper Scissors
