King Group Science Settlement: Eligibility, Proof, and Deadlines

The King v. Monsanto Roundup settlement covers U.S. residents who were exposed to Roundup before February 17, 2026 and who have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, or who receive that diagnosis within 16 years of final approval. Eligible claimants can receive between roughly $6,000 and more than $165,000, depending on how their claim scores against factors like treatment intensity, proof of exposure, and NHL subtype. Class members who prefer to skip the scoring process entirely can take a flat $500 payment instead.¹²

The proposed $7.25 billion agreement was filed in the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, Missouri, as Randall King, et al. v. Monsanto Company, Case No. 2622-CC00325. Judge Timothy Boyer granted preliminary approval on March 4, 2026.²³ Claim registration and submission will not open until the court grants final approval.⁴

Who Qualifies

The settlement class covers all U.S. persons who were exposed to one or more Roundup products before February 17, 2026 and who applied, purchased, participated in the application of, or otherwise had reason to know of their exposure. Spouses and family members with derivative claims are also included.⁵

The class splits into two subclasses:

Subclass 1 covers people already diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma as of the March 4, 2026 preliminary approval date, plus their derivative claimants.⁵
Subclass 2 covers people who were exposed but not yet diagnosed on that date. They can file a claim if they receive an NHL diagnosis within 16 years of final approval.⁶

The settlement’s definition of NHL is narrower than the ordinary medical usage. It excludes multiple myeloma and most forms of leukemia, with narrow exceptions for hairy cell leukemia and aggressive NK-cell leukemia.² If your diagnosis falls outside that list, you likely will not qualify for a payout.

Several groups are excluded from the class entirely: Monsanto officers, directors, and employees; anyone who previously received payment for a release of Roundup claims; and people with cases pending in the federal Roundup multidistrict litigation, unless they request inclusion and dismiss their MDL claim. Anyone who timely opts out is also excluded.⁵

What You Have to Prove

To receive an award, you submit documentation to the claims administrator showing two things: a qualifying NHL diagnosis and actual exposure to a Roundup product.

The diagnosis has to be confirmed by a pathology report, blood test results, or other reliable medical records signed by a qualified physician such as a pathologist, oncologist, or hematologist.² Exposure proof includes items like receipts and photographs. The stronger and more specific your exposure evidence, the higher your claim scores.¹

How Much You Can Receive

Payouts are not fixed. Each claim is scored based on the invasiveness of treatment, the strength of the exposure proof, and medical history. That score drives the award.¹

Eligible individuals can receive between roughly $6,000 and more than $165,000. A separate reported range starts at $10,000 and reaches the same $165,000 ceiling, with the variation tied to exposure details and age at diagnosis.¹⁷

Subtype matters. The settlement sorts NHL into two categories:

Aggressive subtypes such as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, Burkitt lymphoma, and mantle cell lymphoma.
Indolent subtypes such as follicular lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.¹

Which category applies affects how the claim is calculated.

Two carve-outs sit inside the fund. The Extraordinary Circumstances Fund is capped at 5% of each year’s annual settlement payment and is reserved for unusual cases. The Extraordinary Residential Exposure Fund receives 1.5% of each annual payment and covers claims tied to residential exposure.²

If you’d rather not go through the scoring process, you can exit the claims program and take a flat $500 payment instead.²

The full $7.25 billion is not paid up front. Monsanto funds the settlement in declining, capped annual payments over a period of up to 21 years, and the agreement contains no admission of liability.⁶

Key Deadlines to File

Registration is not open yet. The court has to grant final approval first.⁴ The final fairness hearing is set for July 9, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. Central Time at the Civil Courts Building in St. Louis, where Judge Boyer will decide whether to give the deal final approval.¹

Once final approval is granted, the filing windows work like this:

If you have already been diagnosed with NHL, you have 180 days to register for benefits.
If you are diagnosed later, you can file a claim within six years of your diagnosis, or before the 16th annual payment date, whichever applies.⁴

The opt-out and objection deadline has already passed: June 4, 2026.⁸ Anyone in the class who did not opt out or object by that date is bound by the settlement if it receives final approval, unless the court rules otherwise.

Who Administers the Claims

BrownGreer PLC was appointed as the settlement administrator. The firm will verify claims, determine eligibility, and calculate awards. Matthew Garretson serves as allocation special master, and retired Judge Glenn A. Norton was appointed settlement special master.²⁵

Six firms are serving as class counsel pending formal appointment: Seeger Weiss LLP, Motley Rice LLC, Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel, Williams Hart & Boundas LLP, The Holland Law Firm, and Ketchmark & McCreight P.C. Holland and Ketchmark represent Subclass 2, the not-yet-diagnosed group. Class counsel has requested $675 million in attorneys’ fees, or 9.3% of the fund, which Judge Boyer will weigh at the July 9 hearing.²⁹

Risks That Could Change the Payout

Three separate developments could still reshape the settlement.

The first is the U.S. Supreme Court case Monsanto Co. v. Durnell (No. 24-1068), heard on April 27, 2026 and undecided as of June 2026. The Court is deciding whether the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act preempts state-law failure-to-warn claims when the EPA has not required a cancer warning on a pesticide’s label. A ruling for Bayer could effectively eliminate the legal theory underlying most Roundup lawsuits.¹⁰¹¹ Bayer has designed the class settlement to resolve claims “regardless of legal theory,” so the settlement is intended to survive the ruling either way.⁶

The second is a wave of objections. More than 100 class members and a dozen health care companies filed objections before the June 4 deadline.⁸³¹²

The third is Bayer’s own escape clause. The company retains the right to walk away from the deal if the number of plaintiffs who opt out is “excessive.”¹¹ If Bayer exercises that right, the settlement collapses and eligible claimants would be left to pursue individual litigation.

The federal Roundup MDL in California remains active and continues to accept new cases. As of May 2026, roughly 3,900 lawsuits were pending in the federal MDL, with thousands more in state courts.¹¹ Anyone with a pending MDL case is not automatically part of the King settlement class unless they request inclusion and dismiss the MDL claim.⁵

1
Nigh Goldenberg Raso & Vaughn. Roundup Glyphosate Settlement Case Management Litigation Documents
2
ClassAction.org. King et al v. Monsanto Company Settlement Agreement
3
Reuters. Bayer’s $7.25 Billion Roundup Settlement Faces Court Objections
4
WeedKillerClass.com. Weed Killer Class Settlement
5
Robert King Law Firm. Roundup Settlement Preliminary Approval Order
6
Bayer. Monsanto Announces Roundup Class Settlement Agreement
7
Chemical & Engineering News. Bayer Roundup Glyphosate Cancer Class Action Lawsuit Settlement
8
Law.com. Monsanto Moves to Remand Roundup Settlement After Objectors Head to Federal Court
9
NJ Law Journal. NJ Class Counsel in $7.25B Roundup Settlement Ask for $675M in Legal Fees
10
SCOTUSblog. Monsanto Company v. Durnell
11
Robert King Law Firm. Roundup Lawsuit
12
Mealey’s Litigation Report. Panel Sends Case Challenging $7.25B Nationwide Roundup Settlement to MDL