In 2019, an Alameda County jury awarded $55 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages to a couple who both claimed they developed cancer as a result of using Monsanto’s weedkiller Roundup.  The trial court reduced the award to about $18 million in compensatory damages and about $69 million in punitive damages.

The Court of Appeal (First Appellate District, Division Two) affirmed the award in a divided published opinion, with Justice Richman dissenting on the issue of excessive punitive damages.

I won’t comment on the court’s analysis, because Horvitz & Levy represents Monsanto in this case.

By my count, this is the largest punitive damages award ever to survive appellate review in California.   Here’s the updated list:

1. Pilliod v. Monsanto (2021) ___ Cal.App.5th ___: $69 million

2. Buell-Wilson v. Ford (2008) [depublished]: $55 million

3. Boeken v. Philip Morris (2005) 127 Cal.App.4th 1640: $50 million

4.  Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation v. Actelion Ltd. (2014) 224 Cal.App.4th 945: $30 million

5. Rufo v. Simpson (2001) 86 Cal.App.4th 573: $25 million