J&J's Final Attempt To Overturn $2.1B Talc Verdict

J&J's Final Attempt To Overturn $2.1B Talc Verdict

Introduction

On March 2, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) petitioned a Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court to review the $2.1 billion verdict, which was awarded to a group of women over allegations of ovarian cancer from the company's talcum powder.

The attempt was expected and is considered to be a final attempt to overturn the multi-billion-dollar verdict after the highest appeals court in Missouri upheld the judgment.

The company announced the filing in a press release and claimed that the trial was “fundamentally flawed” and yielded an “incorrect verdict and arbitrary and disproportionate damages.”

A Writ of Certiorari is only granted in about 3% of all civil lawsuit appeals filed with the highest court in the country. In this case, the essential point that the company focuses on appears to be the difficult causation questions, which were obscured in the trial.

The initial verdict favoring a group of 22 women was given in July 2018 by a state court jury. J&J appealed over the decision, following which the Missouri appeals court upheld the jury’s finding of liability but slashed the $4.69 billion damages award in June 2020.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) talc users have also appealed to reverse California’s federal judge's decision which favored the company by dismissing a class action lawsuit. It was one of those few wins for the company in the litigation over its talcum powder products.

The lawsuit alleged that J&J misled the consumers with fraudulent advertising of the baby powder and other talc-based products. The company marketed the products as “safe and pure” to gain consumers' trust and increase sales. Contrary to the company's marketing, the lawsuit claims that the products are unsafe and contain multiple hazardous substances like asbestos, lead, silica, and arsenic.

In January 2020, the judge dismissed the lawsuit by stating that the plaintiffs do not have enough evidence to support the claims.

Plaintiffs filed an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals to review and reconsider the lawsuit. Following the appeal, the plaintiffs are required to present the necessary arguments of the case before the court by June 1.

Currently, the talcum powder giant is facing more than 25,000 Baby Powder and Shower-to-Shower lawsuits, each raising similar allegations about the presence of asbestos and the risk of cancer.

Recently, J&J filed an Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, indicating that it has set aside $3.9 billion in litigation expenses in 2020, which is primarily associated with talc-related reserves and certain settlements.