A widow has filed a lawsuit against a major agricultural corporation, alleging that the company's herbicide caused her husband's fatal cancer. Christine Hebert filed the complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on July 12, 2024, against Monsanto Company.
The lawsuit claims that Richard Hebert's exposure to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, which contains glyphosate, led to his diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and subsequent death. Christine Hebert argues that Monsanto was negligent in the design, development, manufacture, testing, packaging, promoting, marketing, advertising, distribution, labeling, and sale of Roundup. She asserts that Roundup is "defective," "dangerous to human health," and "unfit and unsuitable to be marketed and sold in commerce" due to its lack of proper warnings about its dangers.
According to the complaint, Richard Hebert was exposed to Roundup from approximately 1978 through 2017 while residing in Louisiana. In 2017, he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The lawsuit alleges that Monsanto knew or should have known about the risks associated with glyphosate but failed to adequately warn consumers. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as a Group 2A herbicide—probably carcinogenic to humans—in March 2015. Despite this classification and other studies linking glyphosate exposure to various cancers, Monsanto continued to market Roundup as safe for human use.
Christine Hebert is seeking compensatory damages for economic and non-economic losses resulting from her husband's illness and death. The complaint outlines multiple counts against Monsanto including negligence, breach of duty under the Louisiana Products Liability Act (LPLA), manufacturing and design defect under LSA-RS 9:2800.55 and LSA-RS 9:2800.56, inadequate warning under LSA-RS-9:2800.57, non-conformity to express warranty under LSA-RS-9:2800.58, fraud, misrepresentation, and suppression.
The plaintiff is represented by attorneys who argue that Monsanto's actions were not only negligent but also fraudulent. They claim that Monsanto engaged in a prolonged campaign of misinformation about the safety of Roundup by falsifying data and attacking legitimate studies that revealed its dangers. The suit seeks compensatory damages for past and future pain and suffering, medical costs and expenses incurred due to Richard Hebert's illness.
This case is being overseen by Judge [Name] with Case ID: 2:24-cv-01751.