Jury returns $2 billion verdict against Monsanto for couple with cancer

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A jury handed a $2.055 billion verdict in favor of a couple in California who say their cancer was caused by long-term exposure to Monsanto's popular weed killer Roundup, according to the plaintiffs' attorneys.

The verdict in Oakland includes more than $55 million in compensatory damages to the couple and $2 billion in punitive damages, a statement said.

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Bayer, the parent company of Monsanto, insists that glyphosate -- the key ingredient in Roundup -- is safe.

"Bayer is disappointed with the jury's decision and will appeal the verdict in this case," it said in a statementfollowing Monday's verdict.

The septuagenarian plaintiffs, Alva and Alberta Pilliod of Livermore, used the weed killer on their property for more than three decades and were diagnosed with the same type of cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, four years apart, according to their attorneys.

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