CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Jessica Dean delivering her opening statement in Tacoma, WA
Consumer healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson recently settled two cosmetic talc cases, one shortly before jury selection and the other just after opening statements, and the company faces a busy talc trial calendar heading into April.
The trial that settled shortly before jury selection was slated to take place in Broward County, Florida while the trial that settled after opening statements took place in Pierce County, Washington. Courtroom View Network (‘CVN’) planned to provide gavel-to-gavel video coverage of both trials.
Despite these settlements a number of potentially significant J&J talc trials lay ahead, including the second bellwether in ovarian cancer-related cases consolidated in Los Angeles following a $40 million plaintiff verdict at an initial trial late last year also recorded by CVN.
Both settled trials would have featured Dallas-based Dean Omar Branham on the plaintiff side. The firm has taken the lead on bringing J&J talc cases to trial since a lengthy pause caused by bankruptcy maneuverings, while J&J was represented by King & Spalding and Kirkland & Ellis, two powerhouse defense firms that have taken on the bulk of J&J’s imposing talc trial docket.
The bulk of J&J cosmetic talc trials to date involved mesothelioma-related claims. Plaintiffs allege they inhaled asbestos in products like Johnson’s Baby Powder, which they argue caused a rare form of cancer largely associated with exposure to asbestos.
CVN screenshot of defense attorney William Oxley of Kirkland & Ellis delivering his opening statement in Washington State court
J&J maintains their products never contained asbestos, and their position that the company utilized rigorous safety testing and that plaintiff claims are based on fundamentally flawed scientific studies has resulted in numerous defense verdicts across multiple jurisdictions.
A far fewer number of trials to date involved women alleging they developed ovarian cancer after applying cosmetic talc products directly to their bodies. A long-awaited trial involving ovarian cancer claims ended with a $40 million plaintiff verdict last year, and a follow-up set for late April will likely draw similar scrutiny.
Meanwhile mesothelioma-related trials continue, with April dates slated in Ohio and California.
To date CVN has been the only news organization focused on gavel-to-gavel video coverage of cosmetic talc cases, starting with webcasts of key initial trials in Missouri a decade ago.
Watch the opening statements in Tacoma, any of CVN's talc trial coverage to date, or any of the hundreds of others of trials in CVN's video library with a monthly or annual CVN subscription.
The settled Washington case is captioned Verna Richards v. Johnson & Johnson and the settled Florida case is captioned Mary Martinez v. Johnson & Johnson.
Email David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com