Judge Declines to Reduce $260M J&J Verdict
Legislation & Litigation
Written by Travis Rodgers | Edited By Amy Edel
An Oregon judge has ruled that a verdict against Johnson & Johnson in an asbestos case is constitutional. Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Katharine von Ter Stegge declined to reduce or void $260 million awarded in June 2024.
Kyung Lee, who has mesothelioma, was awarded $200 million in punitive damages. She was also awarded $60 million in compensatory damages. Judge von Ter Stegge ruled both amounts are constitutional.
J&J asked for a new trial 3 months after the verdict. Judge von Ter Stegge initially indicated she was in favor of a new trial. However, she eventually denied the motion.
Kyung Lee and her husband claimed J&J’s talc-based baby powder was contaminated with asbestos and caused her illness. Lee says she’d used the product since she was a newborn.
Doctors diagnosed Lee with mesothelioma at 49 years old. The Oregon jury found J&J directly responsible for Lee’s diagnosis.
Contaminated Talc and Asbestos Dangers
In May 2024, the National Institutes of Health released research linking talcum powder to ovarian cancer. Asbestos exposure is the primary cause of mesothelioma. It can also cause several asbestos-related diseases.
J&J pulled its talc-based baby powder from store shelves globally in 2023. The company switched to a cornstarch-based product.
J&J says falling sales motivated the change to the product. The company also claims “misinformation” about its safety played a role. J&J insists its talc products were safe and asbestos-free.
However, documents presented in court cases show J&J knew and discussed asbestos in its talc since the 1950s. Lab tests analyzing J&J’s talc found asbestos in the product between 1971 and the early 2000s.
J&J failed to report the findings to the FDA. By 2018, J&J had spent millions in talc lawsuits.
J&J Faces More Legal Battles
A high-stakes trial is ahead for J&J in January 2025. A federal judge in Texas will decide on its $8.2 billion settlement offer. The deal would end thousands of cancer lawsuits tied to the company’s baby powder. The remaining mesothelioma lawsuits will be handled separately.
Approval of the settlement also includes plans for J&J’s third attempt at a bankruptcy filing. J&J subsidiary Red River Talc LLC filed a “voluntary prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy case” in September 2024.
The Texas Two-Step strategy shifts the cost of talc lawsuits to a subsidiary. That subsidiary then files for bankruptcy, which ends almost all the cases.
For the first time, J&J may soon be facing legal issues in the United Kingdom. Nearly 2,000 potential claimants in the UK plan to sue the company. They believe the use of J&J’s baby powder is to blame for their cancer diagnoses.
Lawyers say this could be the largest pharmaceutical product group action in English and Welsh legal history. J&J has until the end of 2024 to answer a letter sent by the plaintiff’s lawyer.
