Booker Files Amicus Brief to Supreme Court Supporting Cancer Victims Right to Sue Monsanto Over Toxic Pesticides

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) filed an amicus brief to the U.S Supreme Court in Monsanto Company v. John L. Durnell to ensure that pesticide manufacturers can be held accountable by the people harmed by their products, including those exposed through the application of Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate.

By filing an amicus brief, Senator Booker is standing with thousands of Americans who developed cancer after using glyphosate-based herbicides and who deserve a meaningful opportunity to seek justice. John Durnell, a longtime Roundup user who later developed non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, is one of many plaintiffs alleging that Monsanto failed to warn consumers about the product's known health risks.

In March 2026, the Trump Administration's Department of Justice filed an amicus brief siding with Monsanto asserting that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIRFA) preempts state-level failure-to-warn claims. If adopted, this interpretation would create a liability shield for pesticide manufacturers and would deny cancer victims their day in court.

Key Points from the Brief:

• Senator Booker urges the Supreme Court to reject Monsanto's request to grant through judicial action what Monsanto has repeatedly failed to obtain through Congress: broad federal immunity from liability for injuries caused by its product: "Ever since some Americans suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma became aware that their disease is linked to long-term use of Petitioner's flagship product Roundup, Monsanto has sought a broad federal shield from liability for pesticide injuries that juries nationwide have found the company knew, and misled or failed to warn consumers, about. It has repeatedly lobbied for consideration of this result in Congress, and its efforts so far have failed following vigorous bipartisan debate. Even as this Court sits, FIFRA preemption language is once again under consideration in Congress, where this debate belongs."

• Booker underscores that preemption is a matter of congressional intent-and Congress has never intended FIFRA to extinguish state tort law or deprive injured individuals of a path to hold manufacturers accountable: "[Monsanto] seeks to pervert FIFRA by recasting the statute not as the one Congress actually wrote-a floor for what pesticide manufacturers must do to register pesticides with the federal government-but rather the one Petitioner wishes it had written: a (largely Petitioner-controlled) ceiling on consumer safety that bars state tort actions." "Congress, in short, is aware of the question Petitioner presents and has so far answered it differently than Petitioner would like."

• Senator Booker concluded by emphasizing that Congress deliberately preserved state tort remedies as a critical safeguard in a regulatory system where federal agencies often have to rely on limited data provided by manufacturers: "Consumer claims provide a way for manufacturers to remain accountable and retain adequate incentive to keep Americans safe when evidence developed over time reveals risks not fully appreciated during the regulatory process. When state common-law causes of action permit a person to recover for an injury they sustain as a result of a manufacturer's proven negligence, it should prompt the manufacturer to cancel the registration (permitted under FIFRA) or ask for a change to the label (permitted under FIFRA)."

Read the full text of the amicus brief here.

In July 2025, Senator Booker introduced the Pesticide Injury Accountability Act, legislation that would ensure that pesticide manufacturers can be held responsible for the harm caused by their toxic products. Specifically, this bill would amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act of 1972 (FIFRA) to create a federal right of action for anyone who is harmed by a toxic pesticide.

In 2021, Senator Booker introduced the Protect America's Children from Toxic Pesticides Act, legislation that would remove dangerous pesticides within our farm system. Specifically, this legislation would update the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act of 1972 (FIFRA) by banning the most damaging pesticides that have been scientifically proven to harm the safety of people and our environment.

In February 2026, Senator Booker condemned Trump's executive order that directs federal agencies to boost the production of herbicide glyphosate, a chemical known to cause cancer.