FIFRA Preempts Label-Based Failure-to-Warn Claims, Supreme Court Rules
On June 25, 2026, the Supreme Court held, 7-2, that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) preempts a state-law failure-to-warn claim alleging that Monsanto failed to warn users that the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. The decision in Monsanto Co. v. Durnell concludes that EPA’s approval of a pesticide label without a cancer warning […]
EPA Avoids Court Order on Organophosphates, but Timeline Concerns Remain
The Ninth Circuit has declined to force EPA to act on a petition brought by nonprofits targeting organophosphate pesticides, calling the request “premature” despite noting concerns with the agency’s response timeline for certain pesticides. The 2021 petition, brought by environmental and farmworker groups, asks EPA to revoke Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) food […]
California Bill Would Phase Out PFAS Pesticides, Require Label Disclosures
California is considering legislation to phase out use, require labeling, and prohibit registrations of pesticides containing PFAS, defined as a class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom. AB 1603 states that PFAS exposure “poses a significant threat to the environment and public health” and that their intentional use in […]
Supreme Court to Weigh FIFRA Preemption in Roundup Cancer Warning Case
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear Monsanto’s appeal of a $1.2 million jury verdict in favor of a plaintiff who claimed Roundup weedkiller caused his cancer, focusing on whether the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) preempts state failure-to-warn claims when EPA has not required the warning. At the core of the dispute […]
EPA Enforcement Under Trump 2.0: What Regulated Industries Need to Know
The Trump administration’s second term has brought notable changes to environmental enforcement priorities at the Environmental Protection Agency. Recent data shows a shift in the mix of enforcement actions, with changes to both agency resources and enforcement philosophy that chemical manufacturers and other regulated industries should understand. Enforcement Activity: A Mixed Picture Recent enforcement data […]
EPA’s 2025 FIFRA Enforcement Trends
EPA has maintained a surprisingly aggressive enforcement posture under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in 2025, even as broader deregulatory and budget-cutting initiatives move forward. Data from the first part of the year suggest that civil enforcement remains vigorous across multiple sectors and may be exceeding levels seen in previous years. Key […]
First Trials Scheduled in Long-Running Paraquat Litigation
The first three trials have been scheduled to begin in October 2025 in a multidistrict litigation with over 5,800 plaintiffs claiming that exposure to the pesticide paraquat dichloride caused them to develop Parkinson’s disease. A second set of trials is scheduled to begin in April 2026. The case was filed in June 2021. A previous […]
eBay Not Liable for Environmental Violations on Its Platform, Court Rules
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Justice Department against eBay for allegedly selling products that violate environmental statutes, holding that eBay cannot be held liable under an internet speech law. The September 30 order in United States of America v. eBay, Inc., No. 23-CV-7173, applies section 230 of the Communications Decency […]
Third Circuit FIFRA Preemption Ruling Creates Circuit Split
The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) expressly preempts a Pennsylvania law that allegedly requires Monsanto to include a cancer warning on its “Roundup” weedkillers, the Third Circuit ruled on August 15, 2024. The decision in Schaffner v. Monsanto Corp. creates a split with the Ninth and Eleventh Circuits, which have found that similar state-level […]
EPA Issues Seldom-Used Emergency Order to Suspend Registrations of Pesticide DCPA
For the first time in almost 40 years, EPA has issued an emergency order under section 6(c)(3) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to suspend the registrations of all pesticide products containing the active ingredient dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate (DCPA). The emergency measure is based on DCPA’s thyroid effects in fetuses, which EPA deemed so […]