Monsanto Co. has asked a federal appeals court to reverse a verdict over its herbicide Roundup that it said “defies both expert regulatory judgment and sound science.”

In a Dec. 13 brief, former U.S. Solicitor General Seth Waxman and other lawyers for Monsanto, owned by Bayer AG, asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to reverse the $80 million verdict, later reduced to $25.3 million. They cited federal preemption, ”serious legal errors” on causation, and a lack of Monsanto’s alleged “reprehensible conduct” justifying punitive damages. The trial, according to Monsanto, was the first in federal court, where 5,000 Roundup lawsuits are pending.