Bayer settles thousands of U.S. Roundup cases with trial attorneys

(Reuters) — Bayer AG has settled thousands of U.S. Roundup weed killer lawsuits as part of an $11 billion settlement, reaching deals with the only lawyers who took cases to trial over allegations the herbicide caused cancer.

In letters filed with the U.S. District Court in San Francisco late on Monday, three lawyers said they had reached binding settlements of their cases.

The settlements covered 15,000 lawsuits, according to an attorney familiar with the talks. Bayer has estimated it faces 125,000 filed and unfiled claims over Roundup.

Bayer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The terms of the settlements were not disclosed in the letters filed by plaintiffs' attorneys Brent Wisner, Jennifer Moore and Aimee Wagstaff. As a result of the agreements, all law firms that have taken cases to trial have settled with Bayer.

Attorneys Wisner and Wagstaff are members of the executive committee of attorneys who are leading the class action against Bayer.

Shares of Bayer rose about 2.8% on Tuesday.

In August, Bayer's stock fell 3% after it said there were "bumps" in talks to seal the $11 billion settlement of the Roundup cases and the judge overseeing the case, Vince Chhabria, threatened to restart the litigation.

Bayer in June struck an agreement on about 75% of the 125,000 claims stemming from its $63 billion takeover of seed and chemical company Monsanto Corp. in 2018.

Judge Chhabria raised concerns in July over the plan to create an independent panel of scientists to assess whether glyphosate-based weedkillers such as Roundup caused cancer, delaying a key part of the proposed settlement.

The parties are expected to return to Judge Chhabria's court on Sept. 24 to discuss next steps.