Case: Monsanto Company v. John L. Durnell, No. 24-1068
Lower Court: Missouri
Docketed: 2025-04-09
Status: Granted
Question Presented: Whether FIFRA preempts a state-law failure-to-warn claim where EPA has repeatedly concluded that the warning is not required and the warning cannot be added to a product without EPA approval.
On April 1, 2026, respondent’s side drew support from a broad coalition of amici, including farmworker advocacy groups, former EPA officials, and public health scientists. The brief filed by Philip Landrigan, MD, and several co-signatories argues that scientific evidence supports cancer risk warnings for glyphosate-based herbicides. That filing, alongside fourteen other amicus submissions on the same date, illustrates the breadth of interest this case has attracted across public health, agricultural, and governmental communities. The full docket is available at the Supreme Court’s docket page.
The underlying dispute involves John Durnell’s state-law tort claim that Monsanto failed to warn users of glyphosate’s alleged cancer risks. Missouri courts allowed the claim to proceed, rejecting Monsanto’s argument that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) preempts such suits. FIFRA requires EPA approval before any labeling change can be made, and EPA has declined to require a cancer warning on glyphosate products.
The legal question is whether a state jury can effectively mandate a warning that EPA has affirmatively declined to require. The nineteen amicus briefs signal that the Court’s resolution will carry weight well beyond glyphosate litigation. Among the filers are the States of Texas, Florida, and Ohio, as well as Public Citizen and the American Association for Justice.
The outcome will affect thousands of pending Roundup cases and clarify how much room states retain to impose tort-based labeling obligations on federally regulated pesticides. Observers should watch whether the Court draws a firm line between warnings EPA has rejected and those it has simply never addressed. More background on the case is available via Oyez.