Judge Overturns $260 Million Plaintiff Win in J&J Mesothelioma Case
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An Oregon judge has reportedly overturned what was a significant Johnson & Johnson talc lawsuit win for a plaintiff.
Judge Katharine von ter Stegge threw out the $260 million verdict that a jury had awarded to 49-year-old Kyung Lee in June. Lee had been diagnosed with mesothelioma in August 2023 and blamed the development of the rare cancer on her decades-long use of J&J baby powder.
J&J recalled tens of thousands of bottles of its baby powder in 2019 after the Food and Drug Administration found asbestos in a test sample.
The company’s talc powder has continuously been tied to numerous health concerns, including the development of both mesothelioma and ovarian cancer. J&J is working towards the completion of a multi-billion-dollar settlement to resolve litigation related to ovarian cancer claims.
According to Reuters, Lee plans to appeal the judge’s decision in her case. Additionally, Erik Haas, the Worldwide VP of Litigation for J&J, told Reuters that the previous verdict was “the direct result of numerous egregious errors committed by the plaintiff’s lawyers.”
Later this week, Judge von Ter Stegge will likely release a statement concerning her decision to overturn this verdict.
Mesothelioma Plaintiffs Had Seen Success Against J&J
The decision by the Oregon judge is a surprising development in the ongoing litigation of mesothelioma cases against J&J, which has seen multiple successes in recent months.
In August, a South Carolina state court jury awarded $63.4 million to plaintiff Michael Perry, who developed cancer after he used J&J’s talc powder every day for years due to a deodorant allergy.
In that case, J&J had claimed that Perry’s years of work on asbestos-containing brake pads could have been the source of his asbestos exposure, rather than their talc powder. This alternate explanation was unsuccessful in convincing the jury.
In April, an Illinois jury also awarded $45 million to the family of a woman who died after using the company’s baby powder and developing mesothelioma.
Majority of J&J Baby Powder Lawsuits Near Settlement
While mesothelioma-related lawsuits against J&J are ongoing, most of the litigation tied to the company’s baby powder surrounds claims that it causes ovarian cancer.
These cases may be close to a resolution.
J&J announced plans for a multi-billion-dollar settlement in June. Earlier this month, it tacked an additional $1.1 billion onto that cost, bringing the total payout amount to around $9 billion. The settlement has likely met the necessary 75% approval threshold among plaintiffs to go into effect. Currently, the plan is for J&J to pay out over 25 years.
However, J&J will still need court approval for its bankruptcy plan to complete the settlement, which involves subsidiary LTL Management LLC filing for bankruptcy in a Texas two-step strategy. Courts have denied J&J’s past attempts at this type of bankruptcy, so the settlement is not yet a certainty.
There are currently over 57,000 talcum powder lawsuits pending in multidistrict litigation.
Editor Lindsay Donaldson contributed to this article.