J&J gets $260 million talc verdict overturned, new trial ordered

An Oregon judge has thrown out a $260 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson in a lawsuit filed by a woman who said she developed mesothelioma, a deadly cancer linked to asbestos exposure, from inhaling talcum powder of the company, the company announced Monday.

Judge Katharine von ter Stegge of the 4th District Court in Portland, Ore., granted J&J’s request to throw out the verdict and hold a new trial in the case at a hearing late Friday, according to a spokesman for the company. Von ter Stegge is expected to issue a statement explaining her order in the coming days.

Erik Haas, J&J’s global vice president of litigation, said the initial verdict was “the direct result of numerous glaring errors by the plaintiff’s attorneys” and “has no basis in law or science.”

An attorney for the Oregon woman, Kyung Lee, who sued the company with her husband, did not immediately comment.

J&J faces claims from more than 62,000 plaintiffs that its baby powder and other talcum products were contaminated with asbestos and caused cancer. Most of the lawsuits are related to ovarian cancer and other gynecological cancers, with a small minority for mesothelioma. J&J said its talc is safe, asbestos-free and cancer-free.

Lee was diagnosed with mesothelioma last year at the age of 48. She claimed to have inhaled asbestos-contaminated talc for more than 30 years, beginning when her mother used it on her as a child and later when she herself used it as deodorant.

A lawyer for J&J said at the trial that Lee’s illness was likely caused by exposure to asbestos used at a factory near where he grew up.

Friday’s decision comes as J&J prepares to file for bankruptcy with a subsidiary to settle ovarian cancer and other gynecologic cancer lawsuits for about $9 billion. The company said it secured support for the deal from more than 75 percent of the plaintiffs, the legal threshold for a judge to approve the type of bankruptcy settlement J&J is proposing.

The bankruptcy filing and settlement would not affect mesothelioma cases like Lee’s.