LexShares Case #656: The Groundskeeper Who Made History
Johnson v. Monsanto — the first Roundup cancer verdict, a $289M jury award, and my small piece of legal history
The Numbers
| Invested | $25,000 |
| Returned | $42,399 |
| Net Profit | $17,399 |
| MOIC | 1.70x |
| IRR | 29% |
| Holding Period | 770 days |
The Case
You probably heard about this one.
Dewayne Johnson was a 46-year-old school groundskeeper in the San Francisco Bay Area. Between 2012 and 2015, his job required him to spray Roundup — Monsanto’s bestselling herbicide — on school properties.
In 2014, Johnson developed severe skin irritation. He contacted Monsanto directly, asking if Roundup could be the cause. Monsanto never responded. He kept spraying.
Months later, Johnson was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Despite chemotherapy, his cancer progressed. By 2017, it had transformed into an aggressive form. Doctors gave him months to live.
In 2016, Johnson and his wife sued Monsanto, alleging that Roundup caused his cancer and that the company had hidden the risks for decades. Internal Monsanto emails showed executives discussing Johnson’s unanswered inquiry.
The Verdict That Shocked the World
In August 2018, a San Francisco jury awarded Johnson $289 million:
| Past economic loss | $820K |
| Future economic loss | $1.4M |
| Past noneconomic loss | $4M |
| Future noneconomic loss | $33M |
| Punitive damages | $250M |
| Total verdict | $289M |
It was the first Roundup cancer case to go to trial. Global headlines. Monsanto’s stock cratered. Bayer (which had just acquired Monsanto) saw $10 billion wiped from its market cap.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Aug 2018 | Jury verdict: $289 million |
| Oct 2018 | Judge reduces punitive damages to $39M → total $78M |
| Nov 2018 | Monsanto appeals; Johnson cross-appeals |
| Feb 15, 2019 | My investment — $25,000 (appeal stage) |
| Jun 2020 | Oral argument; David Axelrad argues for Johnson |
| Jul 2020 | Appeals court reduces punitives to $10.25M → total $20.5M |
| Oct 2020 | California Supreme Court denies Monsanto’s petition for review |
| Feb 2021 | Bayer pays full $20.5M judgment into trust |
| Mar 2021 | Bayer declines US Supreme Court appeal; funds distributed |
Why I Invested (at the Appeal Stage)
By February 2019, the case had already won at trial twice — first the $289M verdict, then surviving Monsanto’s post-trial motions (reduced to $78M). The appeal was pending.
The risk: Appeals courts can overturn verdicts or drastically reduce damages.
The opportunity: A landmark verdict with strong factual findings, emotional jury testimony, and internal Monsanto emails showing bad corporate behavior. The California Attorney General filed an amicus brief supporting Johnson.
I invested $25,000 to own 1.67% of the appeal outcome.
The Damages Journey
| Stage | Amount |
|---|---|
| Jury verdict (Aug 2018) | $289,000,000 |
| Post-trial reduction (Oct 2018) | $78,000,000 |
| Appeals court (Jul 2020) | $20,500,000 |
| Final judgment | $20,500,000 |
From $289M to $20.5M — a 93% reduction. Yet the plaintiff still received over $20 million, and investors still made 1.7x.
Return Breakdown
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| LexShares funding | $1,500,000 |
| Total recovery to fund | $3,000,000 |
| Fund expenses | ($8,692) |
| Net to fund | $2,991,308 |
| My share (1.67%) | $49,855 |
| Carried interest (30%) | ($7,457) |
| My net return | $42,399 |
What I Learned
Appeal-stage investments can work. I bought in after the verdict and post-trial motions. The hard work was done. The risk was reduced (though not eliminated). The return was solid: 1.7x in ~2 years.
Punitive damages are fragile. The jury awarded $250M in punitives. After two rounds of judicial review, it was $10.25M. If you’re modeling returns on punitive damages, discount heavily.
Even “losing” 93% can be a win. The plaintiff’s damages fell from $289M to $20.5M. But $20.5M is still life-changing money for a dying groundskeeper. And investors still doubled their capital.
Mass tort bellwethers matter. This case set precedent for 4,000+ other Roundup lawsuits. Bayer eventually settled for $10+ billion. Being early on a bellwether case can be valuable.
Deep pockets guarantee payment. Bayer (which acquired Monsanto) had $40 billion in revenue. No collection risk. When they decided not to appeal to the US Supreme Court, they simply paid.
The Bigger Picture
Dewayne Johnson’s case opened the floodgates. After his verdict, tens of thousands of plaintiffs filed similar claims. In 2020, Bayer announced an $11 billion settlement to resolve most Roundup litigation.
Johnson himself, despite his terminal diagnosis, was still alive as of my investment’s resolution. His case changed corporate liability law and forced Bayer to reckon with decades of alleged cover-ups.
I owned a tiny piece of that history — 1.67% of the appeal funding, $25,000 that turned into $42,399.
Sources
- Reuters — Johnson v. Monsanto verdict
- New York Times — First Roundup trial
- Bayer — Roundup litigation page
This was my 14th LexShares investment and the most famous case in my portfolio. A school groundskeeper with terminal cancer took on a $40 billion corporation — and won. I’m proud to have backed him, even in a small way.
