Third Circuit Creates Circuit Split On Preemption Issue Regarding Pesticide Product Labeling

On August 15, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held in Schaffner v. Monsanto that the plaintiff's Pennsylvania state-law claims, which asserted that Monsanto failed to warn about alleged cancer risks presented by glyphosate (the active ingredient in the weed killer Roundup), were expressly preempted by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). In so holding, the Third Circuit disagreed with earlier decisions issued by the Ninth Circuit (Hardeman v. Monsanto) and the Eleventh Circuit (Carson v. Monsanto), both of which held that FIFRA did not preempt state failure-to-warn claims regarding glyphosate product labeling. This circuit split makes it more likely that the Supreme Court of the United States will ultimately take up the issue―and its eventual ruling will have significant implications on the scope of FIFRA preemption nationwide.