By Patrick Thomas and Erin Mulvaney
The clock was ticking for Phillip Dressel to make a decision that could mean life-changing money.
Dressel is one of roughly 200,000 plaintiffs who have sued Bayer, claiming that its weedkiller Roundup caused their cancer.
The 69-year-old former landscaper with a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma could join a $7.5 billion settlement reached earlier this year. His other option was proceeding with his individual case against Bayer.
The settlement could bring Dressel at least $48,000. A jury verdict, his lawyers estimate, could bring a payout totaling millions of dollars. He had to make a decision by June 4.
Opting to go it alone is risky: Roughly two-thirds of the 28 Roundup trials so far have ended in a loss for plaintiffs. It might get harder going forward. The Supreme Court on April 27 will hear a case brought by Bayer in the company's bid to narrow the volume of Roundup claims it is facing.
Bayer wants anyone with a claim to join the settlement and put an end to a litigation nightmare that has hung over it since its 2018 acquisition of Monsanto, the inventor of Roundup. Bayer has denied that Roundup causes cancer and said that the product is safe to use, citing numerous regulatory reviews.
A Bayer spokesman said the settlement is fair to all parties and would provide significant compensation to current and future claimants.
But Dressel wants to hold Bayer accountable and for the company to admit that it marketed a potentially dangerous product. He has decided to roll the dice and take Bayer to trial. "They screwed up, basically, and when you screw up, you gotta be accountable," he said.
The potential settlement is Bayer's latest attempt to end the mass litigation it faces for the weedkiller and fend off future lawsuits. The case has echoes of similar proposed deals with 3M, Johnson & Johnson, and Purdue Pharma. But getting such a deal done can be hard and fractious among the thousands of alleged victims who have to decide if the settlement offers fair compensation.
'Dire' situation
With Bayer, a group of lawyers representing roughly 40,000 claimants negotiated privately with the company over 18 months to design the settlement plan. The $7.5 billion settlement received preliminary approval from a Missouri state judge in March to proceed. The proposed settlement would bring Bayer's total price tag to resolve the Roundup litigation to roughly $22 billion.
While the number of cases has mounted, Bayer has explored strategic options, including a potential bankruptcy filing to curb its Roundup litigation costs. The company has lobbied state legislatures and sought other relief to limit its exposure from a torrent of cases. The company wants to get as many plaintiffs as possible into the settlement.
"The opt-outs need to be something approaching zero," Chief Executive Bill Anderson said in a March investor call. "If people opt out, then you don't really have an agreement, and then we would have to move on to other potential solutions."
But the plan has divided plaintiffs' lawyers since it was announced. Critics of the settlement said the process was rushed and won't adequately compensate victims. The proposed requirements for proving Roundup exposure and age limitations are unfair, they said.
If Bayer prevails in the case before the Supreme Court, it could help lead to the dismissal of thousands of cases against the company. Eric Holland, a lawyer who represents a few thousand plaintiffs, sees that as a strong reason for plaintiffs to take the settlement deal. "The situation is dire," he said.
One of the skeptics among the plaintiffs, Wagstaff Law Firm, recently switched its position in support of the deal last month, a sign that opposition is narrowing.
'You need a little something'
For Dressel, the case is about adequate compensation and hearing Bayer take responsibility.
He said he sprayed gallons of Roundup almost every week in his more than 20 years working as a landscaper. It was the best stuff, he said, to clear yards and sidewalks of weeds. Dressel didn't question using it until 2023, when he noticed skin lesions forming on his arms. A biopsy revealed cancer.
Dressel said he hasn't been able to work in the past two years. Medical procedures, including a left-leg amputation and tumor removal from his skull, have cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars -- a sum surpassing what the potential settlement might yield. He now spends most days hooked up to an IV machine at his small apartment outside of Orlando, Fla.
David Selby II, an attorney who represents Dressel and other Roundup cancer plaintiffs, said he is working to get him a trial as soon as possible.
Dressel said he isn't looking to get hundreds of millions of dollars, but enough to stay alive.
"I'm not trying to be a jerk," he said. "You need a little something, you know, I got to continue living."
Write to Patrick Thomas at patrick.thomas@wsj.com and Erin Mulvaney at erin.mulvaney@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 20, 2026 11:45 ET (15:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments