Alabama Jury Grants Defense Motion In Asbestos Lawsuit

Alabama Jury Grants Defense Motion In Asbestos Lawsuit

Introduction

In an opinion filed on February 25, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, granted a defense motion in an asbestos-in-talc case ruling that the plaintiff failed to establish specific jurisdiction in the case.

The plaintiff had filed a complaint claiming that she developed mesothelioma after using Johnson & Johnson's Baby powder on herself, and her son, from the 1950s through 2015. The defendants included Cyprus Amax Minerals Company (Amax), Cyprus Mines Corporation (Cyprus), Imerys Talc America Inc. (Imerys), and J&J. The plaintiff claimed negligence, wantonness, and breach of warranty, in addition to the allegations that Imerys owned and operated a talc min in Alpine, Alabama, from 1979 to 2000. Imerys filed an affidavit, which stated it never directly sold talc to J&J and never mined in Alabama. The court pointed out that none of the arguments presented by the plaintiff proved J&J's conduct in Alabama and refused to establish personal jurisdiction of J&J for Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc.’s (JJCI) activity within Alabama. The Alabama jury also found that J&J did not have complete control over JJCI, and J&J issued another affidavit furnishing that J&J and JJCI are separate entities since 1979.