Paul J. Napoli was recently quoted in Reuters following a Missouri state court judge's preliminary approval of a proposed $7.25 billion settlement to resolve thousands of lawsuits claiming Bayer's Roundup weedkiller causes cancer.

Judge Timothy Boyer in St. Louis granted preliminary approval to the deal, which is aimed at resolving most of the roughly 65,000 remaining claims pending in federal and state courts. The settlement would establish a program to pay claimants over the course of 21 years. It is intended to cover existing claimants as well as those exposed to the pesticide who are diagnosed with cancer in the future.

Napoli, one of the attorneys who raised concerns about the deal, expressed reservations about the ruling in a statement to Reuters that their firm is “concerned that this decision will unnecessarily prolong the claims process and materially delay the delivery of fair compensation and justice to the thousands of victims who have suffered life-altering injuries from Monsanto's Roundup."

A final approval hearing is scheduled for July, during which the court will hear objections from those impacted before making a final determination on the settlement.

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