Bayer AG has asked a federal judge to toss last month's $265 million verdict, insisting that the jury found no evidence that Monsanto Co.'s dicamba herbicide caused economic damages to a peach farmer's orchard.

In a motion for judgment or new trial filed on Friday, Bayer said the jury relied on a "novel theory of liability" under Missouri law in finding Monsanto liable. In a separate motion, Bayer called the jury's $250 million in punitive damages excessive, unconstitutional and "the result of passion and prejudice," with statements comparing Monsanto "with violent criminals" and disclosing the company's net worth.

"This astronomical award far exceeds anything that could be justified based on the conduct at issue at the level of compensatory damages," wrote Liz Blackwell, a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner in St. Louis. "The fact that the jury awarded $50 million more than requested further reflects that plaintiff's counsel successfully stoked the passions of the jury."