CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Moshe Maimon delivering his opening statement in California
Oakland, California - Johnson & Johnson has agreed to settle a cosmetic talc trial that began late last year in California state court, while the company also faces unusual punitive damages phase before a different jury than awarded compensatory damages in New Jersey.
The California settlement was announced January 6 in Alameda County. According to media reports J&J agreed to pay $2 million to resolve a 61-year-old woman’s allegations that she developed mesothelioma from inhaling asbestos supposedly present in Johnson’s Baby Powder.
Rio Tinto Minerals, another party in the case making its first appearance as a co-defendant with J&J in a cosmetic talc trial, also reached a confidential settlement.
A J&J spokesperson characterized the settlement as a one-off, noting the company has secured a string of recent defense verdicts even in light of the explosive news disclosed last year that the company would voluntarily recall a batch of baby powder after FDA testing revealed it contained asbestos, a finding J&J vehemently denies.
The full trial proceedings leading up to the settlement were webcast and recorded gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network, which has similarly covered most of the cosmetic trials to date involving J&J’s products.
CVN is currently webcasting another closely-watched J&J talc case that began Monday in New Jersey state court, where the company faces the unusual situation of defending punitive damages claims before a different jury than the one which awarded $37.3 million in compensatory damages to three women in September.
That initial verdict came as part the first consolidated, multi-plaintiff trial (also webcast by CVN) involving mesothelioma-related talc claims against J&J. The jury returned the verdict after the presiding judge made the drastic decision to strike J&J’s entire closing argument, prompting vigorous but ultimately unsuccessful calls by the company’s attorneys for a mistrial.
The California case is captioned O’Hagan v. Johnson & Johnson, case number RG19019699, in Alameda County Superior Court.
The New Jersey case is captioned Barden v. Johnson & Johnson, case number MID-L-1809-17, in Middlesex County Superior Court.
E-mail David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com
