Monsanto Company v. Durnell
U.S. Supreme Court (merits stage)
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- Monsanto Company v. Durnell
Date: March 2, 2026
RLC’s Position: The RLC filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Monsanto v. Durnell, a case concerning whether state law failure to warn claims are preempted by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) where EPA has not required the warning. This case is of particular importance to retailers, who have been the target of litigation under a failure to warn theory for not having placed a so-called “shelf warning” next to the product (such as Roundup) to supersede or supplement the manufacturer’s EPA-approved label. In our brief, we argue that requiring a retailer to second guess the labeling decisions of a federal regulator and a manufacturer for hundreds or thousands of regulated products on its shelves defeats the very uniformity mandated by Congress under FIFRA and would cause significant practical and legal challenges for retailers.
Counsel: Will Barnette & I. Cason Hewgley IV of King & Spalding drafted the brief.
RLC’s Position: The RLC filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Monsanto v. Durnell, a case concerning whether state law failure to warn claims are preempted by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) where EPA has not required the warning. This case is of particular importance to retailers, who have been the target of litigation under a failure to warn theory for not having placed a so-called “shelf warning” next to the product (such as Roundup) to supersede or supplement the manufacturer’s EPA-approved label. In our brief, we argue that requiring a retailer to second guess the labeling decisions of a federal regulator and a manufacturer for hundreds or thousands of regulated products on its shelves defeats the very uniformity mandated by Congress under FIFRA and would cause significant practical and legal challenges for retailers.
Counsel: Will Barnette & I. Cason Hewgley IV of King & Spalding drafted the brief.