On October 7 local time, a jury in Los Angeles County, California, ruled that Johnson & Johnson must pay $966 million in damages to the family of a woman who died from mesothelioma, finding that its talcum powder products caused cancer and the company should bear corresponding responsibility. This is the latest verdict in a series of lawsuits alleging that Johnson’s baby powder products cause cancer.
It is reported that the deceased, May Moor, was a resident of California and died in 2021 at the age of 88 from mesothelioma, a rare cancer usually associated with long-term asbestos exposure. Her family sued Johnson & Johnson the same year, alleging that its baby powder contained asbestos fibers, which led to Moor’s cancer.
According to court documents, the jury ordered Johnson to pay $16 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages.
The highest single-plaintiff award in 15 years; Johnson will appeal
This is the highest single-plaintiff award in the 15-year history of Johnson’s talcum powder litigation. However, the award amount may be reduced if Johnson & Johnson appeals. According to relevant rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court, punitive damages are generally not more than nine times the compensatory damages.
In response, Eric Hasse, Johnson & Johnson’s vice president of global litigation, said in a statement that the company plans to appeal immediately, calling the verdict “extreme and unconstitutional.” He also accused the plaintiff’s attorneys in Moor’s case of “presenting pseudoscientific evidence to the jury that should not have been admitted.”
Johnson reiterated that its products are “safe, asbestos-free, and do not cause cancer.” The company noted that it stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the U.S. as early as 2020 and switched to a cornstarch formula. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer usually associated with long-term asbestos exposure.
The plaintiff’s legal team, however, cited Johnson’s internal documents to counter, claiming that the company knew as early as the 1970s that its talcum powder might contain asbestos but failed to disclose the risk to the public. Trey Brewer, an attorney representing Moor’s family, said after the verdict that his team “hopes Johnson will ultimately be held accountable for these preventable tragedies.”
Johnson is mired in a storm of talcum powder lawsuits, with over 67,000 cases pending
According to court documents, Johnson & Johnson is currently facing more than 67,000 lawsuits, with plaintiffs all claiming they developed cancer after using baby powder and other talcum powder products. Among them, cases alleging talcum powder caused mesothelioma account for only a small portion, with the majority related to ovarian cancer.
It has been reported that Johnson has paid over $3 billion to settle related lawsuits, but a large number of cases are still ongoing. Most of these cases are now being consolidated for pretrial discovery in federal court in New Jersey.
It is understood that Johnson has three times attempted to use bankruptcy reorganization to push for a global settlement plan, but all have been rejected by federal courts. Notably, the mesothelioma lawsuits were not included in its latest bankruptcy proposal. The company had previously reached individual settlements with some plaintiffs but has not achieved a nationwide settlement, leading to the recent opening of several mesothelioma cases in state courts.
However, Johnson has also won court support in some cases. Last week, a jury in South Carolina ruled that Johnson was not liable. Additionally, the company has successfully reduced damages in some appeals, including a case in Oregon where a state judge granted Johnson’s request to vacate a $260 million verdict and retry the case.
