$72M J&J Talc Cancer Verdict Reversed

Jefferson City, MOA $72 million verdict in favor of the family of a woman whose death from ovarian cancer was allegedly linked to her long term use of Johnson and Johnson’s Baby Powder has been reversed by The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District.

The court of appeals stated that given a recent US Supreme Court decision that limited where injury lawsuits could be filed, the case over Alabama resident Jacqueline Fox’s death should not have been tried in St. Louis. Many of the cases filed in Missouri have been brought by out-of-state plaintiffs, and have faced jurisdictional scrutiny following the Supreme Court ruling in June.

According to a report by Fortune.com J&J has said it’s facing 4,800 cases filed by plaintiffs across the US all of whom allege similar claims over its talc-based products. J&J also faces cases in California, where a jury awarded a woman $417 million, in August.

The verdict favoring the Fox Family came down in February 2016 and was the first of four jury awards that totaled $307 million. All four cases were heard in state court in St. Louis and were filed by plaintiffs who accused J&J of failing to adequately warn consumers of an alleged link between cancer and the use of its talc-based products.