Feb 25 (Reuters) -

Law firms representing nearly 20,000 people who sued Bayer

over ​alleged injuries from ‌its Roundup weedkiller urged a

Missouri ⁠judge on Wednesday to ⁠delay reviewing the German

company's ‌proposed $7.25 ‌billion nationwide settlement, arguing

that rushing ​would violate ‌the rights of tens of thousands of

cancer ​patients and ​their ‌families.

In a filing in a state court in St ⁠Louis, the firms ⁠said the

accord should not be fast-tracked for possible preliminary

approval on March ⁠4, ‌fifteen days after ‌the

proposed settlement was announced.

The ⁠request is the first major organized pushback against

Bayer's attempt to resolve most of the 65,000 remaining Roundup

claims ​in state and federal courts.

(Reporting by Diana Novak ​Jones ‌in Chicago, Editing ​by Alexia

Garamfalvi)