Jury awards couple a whopping $2B in decision against Monsanto

Bayer’s decision to acquire Monsanto is looking more damaging by the day.  

On Monday, a California jury ordered Bayer to pay a massive $2 billion in punitive damages to a couple who say they contracted cancer after using Monsanto’s Round Up for years. According to the jury, Monsanto did not do enough to warn consumers about the potential cancer risks involved in using the herbicide. 

Bayer said it would appeal the case and pointed to decisions from regulatory bodies who have deemed the chemical un-carcinogenic as proof that the product is safe. 

But the verdict is the third so far against Monsanto, which is facing around 12,000 similar lawsuits. 

News of the verdict sent stock prices for Bayer, which finished its acquisition of Monsanto last year, plummeting to a nearly seven-year low. All told, Bayer’s stock price has lost about 44 percent of its market value since it closed on the acquisition. 

Read the full Forbes report.