Jury awards nearly $1B to family of woman who died from asbestos-linked talc

A Los Angeles jury awarded nearly $1 billion to the family of a woman who developed mesothelioma and died after using what the plaintiffs said was asbestos-contaminated talcum produced by Johnson & Johnson. 

The jury deliberated for two days, finding on Monday that Johnson & Johnson acted with malice or oppression.  Mesothelioma is a terminal cancer that is only caused by exposure to asbestos.

Johnson & Johnson has prevailed in most cases related to its baby powder. The company denies that its talc contains asbestos or causes cancer.

Judge Ruth Ann Kwan presided over the Los Angeles case. The jury unanimously awarded $6 million in emotional distress, $10 million in non-economic damages and $950 million in punitive damages.

The plaintiffs' attorneys with Dean Omar Branham Shirley LLP believe it is the largest verdict ever against Johnson & Johnson in a mesothelioma case linked to talc products.   Johnson & Johnson said it plans to appeal.

The case is Mae K. Moore v. Johnson & Johnson, et al., 21STCV05513 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Feb. 9, 2021). 

Johnson & Johnson's worldwide vice president of litigation, Erik Haas, said in an emailed statement that the verdict was "directly at odds--in result and amount--with the vast majority of other talc cases wherein the company has prevailed."

Haas said a jury in South Carolina rejected the same plaintiff lawyers' talc claims in the Johnson case.

"As in the Johnson case, the plaintiff lawyers in this Moore case based their arguments on 'junk science' that never should have been presented to the jury, as it is refuted by decades of studies demonstrating Johnson's Baby Powder is safe, does not contain asbestos and does not cause cancer," Haas said.

The decedent, Mae Moore, was the wife of a pastor and a mother of three. She regularly used Johnson & Johnson's baby powder, which contained asbestos-contaminated talc, the lawsuit said. Moore was diagnosed in December of 2020 and died a year later at 88. 

The plaintiffs filed the case in 2021, but Johnson & Johnson's "bad faith bankruptcies" delayed matters, according to the plaintiffs' attorneys. The third amended complaint claimed wrongful death and survivorship - asbestos (negligence; breach of implied warranty; strict liability; fraud & concealment; conspiracy to defraud and failure to warn).

"Mae should not have had to suffer because of a product she trusted for use on herself and her children," DOBS attorney Danny Kraft said in a press statement. "We are thankful for the time of the jury and the court for hearing her story and providing justice."

Johnson & Johnson was represented at trial by Sabrina H. Strong and Esteban Rodriguez of O'Melveny & Myers LLP, and John L. Ewald of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. They did not respond to emailed requests for comment.