Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) was ordered by a Los Angeles jury to pay $966 million to the family of a California woman who died from a rare and aggressive cancer, after the company was found liable for claims that its baby powder products caused her illness.
The case involves Mae Moore, who passed away in 2021. Her family said she developed mesothelioma, a rare cancer, after years of using Johnson & Johnson's talc powder, which they claimed was contaminated with asbestos, a known carcinogen. The jury awarded $16 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages, according to court records.
In response, Erik Haas, Johnson & Johnson's vice president of litigation, said the company plans to appeal immediately, calling the verdict "egregious and unconstitutional."
The company has consistently denied that its talc-based baby powder contains asbestos or causes cancer. Johnson & Johnson stopped selling the product globally in 2023 after facing tens of thousands of lawsuits linking its talc to mesothelioma, ovarian cancer, and other cancers.
This ruling follows a failed attempt by Johnson & Johnson to settle all current and future talc lawsuits through a $9 billion bankruptcy plan. Federal Judge Christopher Lopez rejected the plan, citing flawed procedures and a lack of proper claimant consent.
The company had previously tried twice to use bankruptcy to manage its talc liabilities, creating a subsidiary, LTL Management, in 2021, a move critics called the "Texas two-step." Courts have since ruled that Johnson & Johnson cannot use bankruptcy to avoid responsibility.
With over 90,000 lawsuits pending, Johnson & Johnson said it will return to the courts to contest these claims. The company has set aside around $7 billion to manage bankruptcy-related matters. Internal memos have shown that the company had concerns about possible asbestos contamination in its talc products.
Tuesday, JNJ closed at $188.89, up 0.39% and is currently trading after hours at $188.12, down 0.41% on the NYSE.
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