U.S. Supreme Court spurns dispute over Monsanto class-action settlement

(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a dispute involving a lawsuit against Bayer AG's Monsanto Co that could rein in a common form of settlement in class action cases under which money is awarded to charities and third parties unrelated to the litigation.

The justices turned away an appeal by Anna St. John, an attorney who opposed an agreement for Monsanto to pay more than $39 million to settle claims that the company deceptively labeled certain Roundup weedkiller products. Lower courts rejected the challenge by St. John, who had objected to the settlement because $14 to $16 million of the award would go to consumer non-profit groups and a university that were not injured by the company's alleged misconduct.

(Reporting by Will Dunham)

By Andrew Chung