Articles by Jonathan Stempel and Tina Bellon

California Court Denies Bayer Appeal of Roundup Verdict But Reduces Damages

Bayer AG failed to persuade a California appeals court to overturn a verdict favoring a school groundskeeper who claimed its Roundup weed killer caused his cancer but reduced the amount of damages by 74% to $20.5 million. The decision by …

Massachusetts Sues Uber, Lyft to Classify Drivers as Employees

Massachusetts on Tuesday followed California in suing Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc. over allegedly misclassifying their drivers as independent contractors instead of employees entitled to extensive benefits. The complaint filed in Suffolk Superior Court claims Uber and Lyft violate …

Bayer Gambles on Science to Let It Keep Selling Roundup, Mitigate Future Claims

FRANKFURT/NEW YORK— Seeking to forestall further claims, Bayer AG is taking a risky bet that an independent scientific review will ultimately show that its widely used weed killer Roundup does not cause cancer, legal experts said. The company on Wednesday …

California Wants Judge to Force Uber, Lyft to Classify Drivers as Employees

California plans to ask a state court judge to force Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. to classify their ride-hail drivers as employees rather than contractors, ratcheting up the tension over a new gig worker law. Shares of both companies …

Bayer to Settle 100,000 Roundup Weedkiller Cancer Claims for $10.9 Billion

FRANKFURT/NEW YORK- Bayer AG, after more than a year of talks, agreed to pay as much as $10.9 billion to settle close to 100,000 U.S. lawsuits claiming that its widely-used weedkiller Roundup caused cancer, resolving litigation that has pummeled the …

U.S. Court Nixes Cancer Warning on Bayer’s Roundup Weed Killer

A U.S. federal appeals court on Monday blocked California from requiring that Bayer AG label its glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup with a cancer warning, handing the company a victory in its ongoing litigation over the product. In his ruling, U.S. …

Autonomous Car Makers at Odds With Insurance Industry Study Claiming Low Estimate of Crashes

Companies working on self-driving vehicles have criticized an insurance industry study suggesting that only a third of all U.S. road crashes could be prevented by driverless cars, arguing that the study has underestimated the technology’s capabilities. The study by the …

California Regulator Says Uber, Lyft Drivers Are Employees

Drivers working for ride-hailing services such as Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc will be considered employees under California’s new gig worker law, the state’s leading industry regulator said on Thursday. Shares in Uber and Lyft fell 5.3% and 4.2%, …

Autonomous Car Makers Dispute Insurance Study’s Low Estimate of Crashes

Companies working on self-driving vehicles have criticized an insurance industry study suggesting that only a third of all U.S. road crashes could be prevented by driverless cars, arguing that the study has underestimated the technology’s capabilities. The study by the …

Court Hears Bayer’s Appeal of $289M Roundup Cancer Verdict

A California appeals court on Tuesday heard arguments in the first case that went to trial over allegations that Bayer AG’s glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup causes cancer, resulting in a $289 million judgment against the company. The August 2018 jury …