BERLIN, March 22 (Reuters) - Bayer was

ordered by a jury in the U.S. state of Georgia to pay about $2.1

billion to a plaintiff who claimed the company's Roundup weed

killer caused his cancer, the plaintiff's law firms said late on

Friday.

The verdict, which Bayer said on Saturday it would appeal,

is one of the largest legal settlements issued in a

Roundup-related case and is the latest setback for the group,

among the world's largest seeds and pesticides makers.

Bayer has paid about $10 billion to settle disputed claims

that Roundup, based on the herbicide glyphosate, causes cancer.

Over 60,000 further cases are pending for which the group has

set aside $5.9 billion in legal provisions.

The Georgia verdict includes $65 million in compensatory

damages and $2 billion in punitive damages, according to a

statement emailed to Reuters by the plaintiff's law firms Arnold

& Itkin LLP and Kline & Specter PC.

Bayer said in a statement it disagreed with the jury's

verdict, as it conflicted with the overwhelming weight of

scientific evidence and the consensus of regulatory bodies and

their scientific assessments worldwide.

"We believe that we have strong arguments on appeal to get

this verdict overturned and the excessive and unconstitutional

damage awards eliminated or reduced," it said.

Earlier this month, Bayer told U.S. lawmakers it could stop

selling Roundup unless they strengthened legal protection

against product liability litigation, a financial analyst and

person close to the matter told Reuters.