FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Bayer said on Monday that the U.S. Supreme Court had asked the solicitor general for an opinion in the Durnell case, as the German company seeks clarity from the top U.S. court in litigation related to its weedkiller glyphosate.
The court’s request for the view of the solicitor general -the federal government’s top Supreme Court lawyer – further delays a decision by the court whether it will hear the case.
Germany’s Bayer is seeking relief in its legal fight over potentially billions of dollars in damages related to disputed claims that the weedkiller causes cancer.
“We see this request as an encouraging step,” said Bayer CEO Bill Anderson, adding the company was looking forward to hearing the views of the government.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has repeatedly upheld guidance that glyphosate is not carcinogenic and not a risk to public health when used as indicated on the label.
Bayer has said it should not be penalised for marketing a product deemed safe by the EPA and on which the EPA would not allow a cancer warning to be printed.
Bayer shares were down 4.2% at 1354 GMT.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, editing by Thomas Seythal)
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