Federal Judge Has ‘Grave Concerns’ About Missouri Roundup Deal

A federal judge overseeing thousands of cancer lawsuits against Bayer AG and its Roundup weedkiller said he had “grave concerns” about whether a proposed $7.25 billion class-action settlement in Missouri could properly address future claims outside the state.

At a hearing last week, US District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco questioned whether an accord reached in a Missouri state court would be legally binding on plaintiffs elsewhere, especially former Roundup users who have yet to file their claims because they haven’t developed cancer.

Chhabria also criticized some specific terms of the deal and the way backers persuaded a St. ...