CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Rachel Gross delivering her opening statement
Columbia, SC - A South Carolina state court jury heard opening statements Tuesday in the most recent trial over allegations Johnson & Johnson’s cosmetic talc products contain asbestos, and the full trial is being webcast and recorded gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
Plaintiff Michael Perry blames years of using Johnson’s Baby Powder for his mesothelioma, which he developed in 2023 at the age of 53. His lawyers argue his use was especially heavy due to an allergy to most deodorants. However J&J maintains their talc products never contained asbestos, and that Perry’s exposure could have occurred while working with asbestos-containing brake pads for years in his father’s garage.
The trial is taking place before Chief Justice Jean Toal, who now presides over South Carolina’s consolidated asbestos docket after retiring from the state’s highest court. CVN is providing live and on-demand video of the full trial, having similarly covered the majority of J&J talc cases to date in state court, which are available along with hundreds of other trials as part of a CVN video library subscription.
Perry is represented by Dean Omar Branham Shirley, a Texas-based firm that has racked up a string of trial wins in cosmetic talc cases this year, including a recent trial in Oregon also filmed by CVN that ended in a $260 million verdict.
Both counsel tables in the Richland County, South Carolina courtroom have a Texas footprint, with Johnson & Johnson represented by attorneys from Butler Snow’s Austin office, among others.
CVN screenshot of defense attorney Kim Bueno delivering her opening statement
While plaintiffs have argued repeatedly at trials like this that J&J allegedly knew for years their talc products contained asbestos, the company vehemently denies those claims and accuses plaintiff attorneys of relying on fundamentally flawed scientific studies to show any link between talc exposure and cancer.
CVN’s gavel-to-gavel coverage will continue for the duration of the proceedings.
The case is captioned Michael Perry v. American International Industries, et al., case number 2023-CP-40-04072 in South Carolina’s 5th Judicial Circuit Court.
E-mail David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com