Supreme Court case on pesticides draws MAHA attention

SCOTUS hears case on whether pesticides makers can be sued 

The Supreme Court on Monday heard a case on whether consumers can sue pesticide makers like Monsanto for failing to disclose alleged harm caused by their products, drawing the intense interest of “Make America Healthy Again” supporters.

Monsanto asked the court to consider its appeal of a Missouri verdict in which a man named John Durnell was awarded $1.25 million from his failure-to-warn claim over Roundup. 

The justices did not give a clear indication of which way they would rule, with conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch and liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson among the justices who asked tough questions of Monsanto. 

Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh, however, appeared skeptical of Durnell.  

Pesticide critics, including environmental activists and supporters of the MAHA movement, rallied outside the court on Monday, saying people should be able to hold companies accountable. 

In court, Monsanto argued that some state-level failure-to-warn claims against pesticide companies should not be allowed to proceed because they are preempted by the nation’s main pesticide law. 

The company’s argument is based on a provision in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act that says states cannot impose “requirements for labeling or packaging” on pesticides “in addition to or different from” those set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

Read more here from The Hill’s Rachel Frazin. 

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