US court jury directs J&J to pay $260 million to baby powder user

By Jef Feeley

Johnson & Johnson was ordered by an Oregon jury to pay $260 million to a woman who blamed her cancer on life-long use of the company’s baby powder as the drugmaker strives to wrap-up litigation over the now-withdrawn product. 

 

The state-court jury in Portland, Oregon, found late Monday that J&J was responsible for Kyung Lee’s mesothelioma – a cancer tied to asbestos exposure — and awarded her $200 million in compensatory damages and $60 million in punitive damages. Lee was diagnosed with the often-fatal cancer last year at age 48. She argued J&J’s talc-based baby powder was tainted with asbestos.

“For years, Kyung and her family used Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder not having any idea it could lead to a life-ending illness,” Ben Adams, one of her lawyers, said in an emailed statement. “Today, Ms. Lee was able to see justice and secure a future for her family after she is gone.”

J&J now faces more than 61,000 suits blaming talc for different types of cancers. Many of the cases have been consolidated before a federal judge in New Jersey. Other cases are set to start trial in state courts. Jurors in state court in Dallas will begin hearing evidence in another talc trial next week.

The verdict comes as J&J pushes forward with an effort to persuade users of the baby powder to back an $11 billion settlement of all current and future lawsuits that would be facilitated by another bankruptcy filing by a J&J unit. Starting this week, consumers can vote to support the deal as part of preparations for a third bankruptcy filing.

J&J officials said they’d appeal the Oregon verdict and are confident it will be thrown out. 

“The verdict is irreconcilable with the decades of independent scientific evaluations confirming talc is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer,” Erik Haas, worldwide vice president of litigation, said in a statement.

J&J, based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, pulled its talc-based powders off the market in the US and Canada in 2020, citing slipping sales. The world’s largest maker of health-care products replaced talc with a cornstarch-based version. The company vowed to get all its talc-based baby powders off the market worldwide by the end of last year.

J&J has steadfastly maintained talc doesn’t cause cancer and that it has appropriately marketed its baby powder for more than 100 years. The company has spent billions settling other mesothelioma cases to clear the way for a new bid to use the bankruptcy courts to resolve the talc litigation.

This time around, the world’s largest maker of health-care products seeks a so-called “pre-packaged” bankruptcy under rules allowing companies to speed through Chapter 11 cases if they have enough creditor support. In bankruptcy court, tort plaintiffs are converted into unsecured creditors.

The new plan calls for the company to pay $6.48 billion over 25 years to resolve the ovarian cancer claims, though it’s unclear what portion will be set aside for current cases and how much would be placed in a trust for future claims. Consumers have eight weeks to decide whether to back the offer.

“We fully expect to secure a favorable vote, as the plan is in the best interests of claimants,” Haas noted in an emailed statement. “The time has come to end this litigation.”

Some lawyers for former baby powder users oppose the deal, saying it provides paltry payouts and will wrongfully force settlements upon injured consumers. 

“J&J is moving forward with its third bankruptcy in less than three years,” Andy Birchfield, a lawyer for former baby powder users, said in a statement. “At the same time, an Oregon jury sends a clear message about the seriousness of J&J’s talc problem. J&J needs to get the message: don’t strip women of their right” to their day in court.

The Oregon case is Lee v. Johnson & Johnson, 23CV400369, Fourth Judicial District Circuit Court for Multnomah County, Oregon (Portland).

First Published: Jun 04 2024 | 11:03 PM IST