A jury handed an unparalleled $2.055 billion verdict in favor of a couple in California who say their cancer was caused by long-term exposure to Monsanto's popular weed killer Roundup, The septuagenarian plaintiffs, Alva and Alberta Pilliod of Livermore, used the weed killer on their property for more than three decades and were diagnosed with the same type of cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, four years apart, according to their attorneys.

The verdict in Oakland includes more than $55 million in compensatory damages to the couple and $2 billion in punitive damages It follows several recent losses the company has faced in court concerning Roundup. Thousands of similar cases are pending at the federal or state level.

Bayer, the parent company of Monsanto, insists that glyphosate --. the key ingredient in Roundup -- is safe.

Bayer says it is disappointed with the jury's decision and will appeal the verdict in this case.

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