A New Jersey appeals court has thrown out a $223.8 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) that a jury had awarded to four plaintiffs who argued they developed cancer from being exposed to asbestos in the company’s talc powder products. The reason? The Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division found that a lower court judge should not have allowed some of the scientific expert testimony the plaintiffs presented to jurors at trial.
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Backstory
The jury in the original case had ordered the company to pay $37.2 million in compensatory damages and $750 million in punitive damages (though that amount was automatically reduced to $186.5 million under state law).
In reversing the verdict and ordering a new trial, a three-judge panel of the appeals court this week found that the trial court failed to fulfill its “gatekeeping role” of assessing whether the plaintiffs’ experts based their testimony on sound science.
In their opinion, the judges found that three experts had not explained the facts or methods they used to support their opinions that the plaintiffs got cancer from being exposed to asbestos in talc products.
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J&J is playing hardball
J&J is suing one of those experts, Jacqueline Moline, over a study she co-authored in 2019. That study was not at issue in the recent decision.
Moline, who has testified for plaintiffs in more than 200 talc cancer cases, has argued that J&J’s lawsuit against her is an effort to “intimidate” scientific experts and prevent them from testifying against the company.
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Overview of lawsuits
J&J faces more than 38,000 lawsuits alleging that its talc products, including Johnson’s baby powder, can contain asbestos, and caused cancers including ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, a type of cancer linked to asbestos exposure.
The claims have a mixed record of success, with major plaintiff wins including a $2.1 billion judgment awarded to 22 women with ovarian cancer. That verdict was upheld by an appeals court, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review it.
J&J has recently won reversals of some cases that went against it, including of a $117 million verdict in the same New Jersey appeals court and a $120 million verdict in New York.
The company’s latest win comes after it failed for a second time in July to move tens of thousands of claims over talc into bankruptcy court, where it hoped to resolve them through a proposed $8.9 billion settlement. It is appealing that ruling.
J&J has said the cost of its talc-related verdicts, settlements and legal fees have reached about $4.5 billion.
Source: Reuters
Eric
Chemical Free Life 