Monsanto Hit with $289 Million Verdict in Roundup Cancer Case

Monsanto Co. was socked by a jury with $289 million in damages in the first trial over claims that its Roundup weed killer causes cancer.

Lee Johnson, a former school groundskeeper whose doctors didn’t think he’d live long enough learn the verdict, prevailed Aug. 10 in San Francisco state court after jurors deliberated for three days. The trial was an important test of each side’s evidence and will serve as a template for how plaintiffs can convince juries in future cases in state and federal courts in California and elsewhere.

Johnson was seeking $412 million in damages. Monsanto said it ...