Topic: Asbestos
In a 5-2 split decision, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled on June 3, that manufacturers and distributors can be held liable for failing to warn of the risks of asbestos-containing replacement components even if they did not build or sell them. In the 43-page majority opinion, Justice Barr T. Albin wrote: “Our developing common […]
On May 19, 2020, Johnson & Johnson announced it is discontinuing North American sales of its talc-based baby powder, a product it has defended for decades in the face of lawsuits filed by consumers who say it caused cancer. This move likely would not have happened without the public attention drawn to individuals who have […]
Talc manufacturer Johnson and Johnson recently found itself in courtrooms in both New Jersey and Missouri battling in cases filed by plaintiffs who claim that the company’s talc products contained asbestos and caused their ovarian cancers. Missouri On April 24, the manufacturer appeared before the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District, arguing to […]
In February, after a massive punitive damages verdict, Johnson and Johnson filed a motion seeking a new trial on the issue of the award as well as motions asking for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and remittitur. In its filings, J&J claimed that the plaintiffs’ subpoenaing of the company chief executive, Alex Gorsky, was inappropriate, causing […]
Despite the fact that the Missouri Supreme Court canceled all in-person arguments in April as a result of the Coronavirus crisis, the Missouri Eastern District Court of Appeals in St. Louis has set a date of April 24 for Johnson and Johnson’s appeal of the record-setting $4.69 billion verdict against the company in July 2018. […]
In a case currently being tried against personal products company American International Industries (AII) in New Jersey Superior Court, a microscopy expert took the stand to testify that the mines in Italy and Montana from which Clubman talcum powder is sourced contain asbestos fibers. Steven Compton, an electron microscopy expert, testified that eight out of […]
On February 4, for the first time in almost fifty years, the FDA held a hearing examining the standards used for testing talc-containing products for asbestos and other potentially harmful contaminants. In response to recent reports that asbestos had been found in several talc-containing products, including a bottle of Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder, the […]
On February 6, Johnson & Johnson was ordered by a New Jersey jury to pay $750 MM in punitive damages to four plaintiffs suffering from mesothelioma as a result of their use of J&J’s asbestos-contaminated baby powder; the parties had previously been awarded $37.3 MM in compensatory damages after a two-month long trial before a […]
In a January 13 decision, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Ana C. Viscomi ruled that Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky must take the stand in the punitive damages phase of the trial, which began on January 14 and will determine whether J&J acted “maliciously or in wanton and willful disregard of the plaintiff’s rights”. […]
On January 9th, only a few days after J&J’s California case settled, the FDA announced that it will hold a day-long public forum to gather information and discuss the testing procedures for detecting asbestos in talc-based cosmetics. The meeting is scheduled to take place on February 4th at FDA’s White Oak Campus in Silver Spring, […]
