A lawsuit alleging glyphosate herbicide caused an Idaho resident’s blood cancer isn’t barred by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that blocked a similar case, according to a federal judge.
In 2019, Merril Hoge — a former National Football League player who lives in Pocatello — filed a complaint claiming his non-Hodgkins lymphoma resulted from years of spraying Roundup herbicide manufactured by Monsanto.
Monsanto, which is owned by the Bayer chemical company, has faced scores of similar lawsuits across the U.S., many of which it has settled.
But earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal pesticide law pre-empted lawsuits based on the theory that state laws required Monsanto to warn of alleged cancer risks on Roundup labels.
Citing that decision, Monsanto asked for a federal judge in Idaho to dismiss Hoge’s complaint, arguing it was also pre-empted by the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, or FIFRA.
