Multiple Plaintiffs Win $37.3M Talc Verdict Against J&J

Multiple Plaintiffs Win $37.3M Talc Verdict Against J&J

Introduction

A six-member New Jersey state court jury awarded $37.3 million to four plaintiffs who developed mesothelioma from inhaling asbestos allegedly present in Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) cosmetic talc products.

Judge Ana Viscomi, presiding over all New Jersey’s asbestos docket, struck the closing argument by J&J's attorney for making derogatory comments about the plaintiffs' attorney which led to deliberations. The defendant's attorney immediately moved for a mistrial.

This is the fourth J&J cosmetic talc case to go to trial in New Jersey. The jurors awarded $7.25 million to the first couple, $9.45 million to the second couple, $14.7 million to a plaintiff, and $5.9 million to the third couple. The date for the second phase of the trial to determine punitive damages will be set sometime later in the Fall.

Currently, two mesothelioma-related trials are in progress in California state court in Los Angeles. Also, in Georgia state court in Atlanta, jury selection is underway in the state’s first cosmetic talc trial and ovarian cancer case since a trial last year in Missouri, which ended in a $4.7 billion verdict.

Earlier, Union Carbide Corp. was awarded a summary judgement by the Delaware trial court. The company cleared its stand in the asbestos case by saying that it relied on Georgia-Pacific to warn the end-users of its joint compound products. This resulted in the jury ruling the judgement in the company's favour. 

In 1929, a woman filed the country's first asbestos lawsuit in Newark (NJ) Federal Court. 15 other individuals were trying to get compensation for the asbestos-related claims. In 1934, the woman's lawsuit was disqualified, but many such lawsuits were filed following the occurrence. Johns-Manville Corporation was one of the biggest companies that were targeted by these lawsuits. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1982.