On January 16th, 2026, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear Durnell v. Monsanto Co., a landmark case that has the potential to reshape one of the largest mass tort litigations in American history. Bayer AG (“Bayer”), the German pharmaceutical and agrochemical giant that acquired Monsanto Company (“Monsanto”) in 2018, has faced over 200,000 claims alleging that its widely used Roundup weedkiller causes cancer, some such claims predating the acquisition. (David A. Lieb, AP/STAT News). The central question before the Court now is whether the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (“FIFRA”) preempts state-law failure to warn claims when the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has approved a pesticide’s label without requiring a cancer warning. (LDM Law). Put simply, after the EPA has approved a label lacking a cancer warning, can failure to warn claims still be brought? This post will examine the history of the Roundup litigation, analyze Bayer’s use of the preemption argument and its potential effects on consumer protection, and consider the implications for American agriculture if the Court rules in Monsanto’s favor.

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In June of 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) filed suit against Amazon.com, Inc. (“Amazon”) for allegedly deceptively enrolling customers into its Amazon Prime (“Prime”) membership program and making cancellation from the program excessively difficult. Prime provides access to exclusive digital content, consumer deals, and faster shipping for its estimated 197 million members. (Jordan Valinsky, CNN). The FTC’s suit marks one of the more significant uses of consumer protection law against a technology giant of this scale. (Caroline Haskins, Wired). The case centered around so-called “dark patterns,” subtle user interface designs and features aimed at manipulating consumer behavior. (FTC). This post seeks to explain the FTC’s complaint, acknowledge the personal liability implications of the action, and consider what the enforcement may suggest for corporate liability and consumer protections actions moving forward.

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