Johnson & Johnson Talc Lawsuit
Legally Reviewed By: Sam E. Taylor
Managing Attorney | Mesothelioma & Asbestos in Houston
- Page Last Updated:
- November 15, 2024
Legally Reviewed By: Sam E. Taylor
Managing Attorney | Mesothelioma & Asbestos in Houston
- Page Last Updated:
- November 15, 2024
Johnson & Johnson has promoted a public image as an honest, family-friendly company, but its behind-the-scenes conduct tells a different story. Johnson & Johnson knew baby powder contained asbestos at least as early as the 1970s. Rather than make its product safe, the company fired at least one researcher who discovered asbestos, falsified reports to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and pushed for FDA policies to allow less sensitive testing that would fail to detect asbestos.
Johnson & Johnson has shamelessly harmed marginalized and minority populations for its own benefit. According to the BMJ research journal, Johnson & Johnson funded a study in 1971 in which inmates—most of whom were black—received asbestos injections in their skin to compare the effects of asbestos with baby powder. The New York Times also reported in 2021 that the National Council of Negro Women sued J&J for deceptive marketing practices because J&J marketed baby powder heavily to black women, knowing its product was harmful.
Johnson & Johnson’s conduct demonstrates that the company is no more benevolent than any other large corporation that prioritizes profits over people. We are committed to holding them accountable and securing just compensation for individuals their products have harmed.
Johnson & Johnson Lawsuit Updates
October 2024
October 21, 2024: Judge Lopez has agreed to allow Johnson & Johnson’s bankruptcy case to proceed in Texas and scheduled the bankruptcy trial for January 2025. J&J has set aside approximately $12 billion to pay present and future claims. Despite J&J’s contention that it has more than the required 75 percent of plaintiffs’ votes approving of the plan, the plaintiffs’ attorneys have alleged that J&J obtained some of the votes fraudulently.
The Department of Justice has filed a motion to dismiss Johnson & Johnson’s latest attempt to settle talc-related mesothelioma claims through bankruptcy. The U.S. Trustee contends that J&J has “no need for bankruptcy relief,” viewing the filing as a strategy to protect the company from liability rather than a genuine financial necessity.
The total number of cases in the Johnson & Johnson lawsuit has now surpassed 62,000, an increase of nearly 9,000 compared to the previous year.
September 2024
September 20: Johnson & Johnson’s new subsidiary, Red River Talc, filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas before the Honorable Judge Lopez. J&J is offering $8.9 billion to the plaintiffs but must have at least 75 percent of the plaintiffs’ support for the bankruptcy to be approved.
August 2024
Johnson & Johnson requested the dismissal of a class action lawsuit that would provide medical monitoring to individuals who have used talc-based products. If granted, J&J would avoid covering ongoing surveillance and health assessments for individuals who have used their products but have not yet been diagnosed with an illness.
July 2024
On July 5, 2024, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, or IARC, determined that talc ‘probably’ causes cancer, as the mineral used in these products can be contaminated with asbestos. After assessing the evidence, the IARC classified talc as a Group 2A carcinogen.
June 2024
On June 6, 2024, the parties submitted a joint update to the Court. The update explained that the Plaintiffs have served supplemental expert reports, and the Defendants have deposed those experts. Defendants likewise served their own expert reports, and depositions are ongoing.
May 2024
J&J announced again that it will seek to resolve the remaining cases through bankruptcy. It is not clear how this effort differs from the prior two attempts at resolving cases through bankruptcy, and leadership in the coordinated proceedings appears poised to reject it. Meanwhile, in the federal MDL, the parties have re-briefed Daubert, and expert depositions are currently underway.
April 2024
Trials of individual talc claims in the consolidated proceedings will continue. A reported $700 million settlement resolving claims brought by attorneys general does not resolve personal injury claims.
J&J appealed the dismissal of its bankruptcy filing, and the process remains ongoing. There have been continued rumors of a possible third bankruptcy filing, but it has not yet materialized.
February 2024
J&J investors have filed a class action lawsuit, alleging causes of action similar to the personal injury and wrongful death claims that have been asserted. A New Jersey federal court certified the class action. The class action claims that Johnson & Johnson made misleading statements regarding the safety of baby powder even though it was aware of concerns about asbestos.
November 2023
Los Angeles County, California, has filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson for false advertising and targeting Hispanic and African American women when marketing a harmful product.
October 2023
Bloomberg News reported that Johnson & Johnson is considering attempting a third bankruptcy in Houston after its two failed attempts in New Jersey. This move would be an attempt to capitalize on the resignation of a leading U.S. Bankruptcy judge in Houston due to an ethics inquiry.
This third bankruptcy attempt will only include asbestos-exposure claimants with ovarian cancer, not those diagnosed with mesothelioma, and the offer remains at $8.9 billion. This means plaintiffs with mesothelioma would still be free to sue. It is Johnson & Johnson’s intention to pursue a fast-tracked bankruptcy in this scenario.
October 16: There are 52,995 cases in MDL 2738.
September 2023
September 15: The number of cases in the MDL has grown to 47,346, and this number is expected to continue to grow rapidly now that the bankruptcy stay has been lifted.
September 11: One of the four scientists Johnson & Johnson is suing filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit against her. According to the motion filed on behalf of Dr. Moline, her research is protected by free speech, and the lawsuit is merely an attempt to intimidate scientific experts.
August 2023
August 15, 2023: There are 37,770 cases pending in the MDL. The most recent dismissal of Johnson & Johnson’s Texas Two-Step has paved the way for the automatic bankruptcy stay on these cases to be lifted. These cases can now move forward after being on hold for over a year and a half.
August 11: U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan formally dismissed LTL Management’s second bankruptcy case. Johnson & Johnson has vowed to appeal. Judge Kaplan stopped short of banning LTL Management from filing for bankruptcy in the future.
August 7: Lawyers for plaintiffs in the Johnson & Johnson asbestos claims called for Judge Kaplan to block Johnson & Johnson from filing for bankruptcy for at least six months.
July 2023
July 28: Judge Kaplan of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey rejected the bankruptcy filing of Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary LTL Management, finding the lawsuits against it did not put the company in “imminent or immediate financial distress.”
July 7: Johnson & Johnson filed lawsuits against three more scientists under the name of its subsidiary LTL Management. These researchers published studies linking Johnson & Johnson’s personal care products to cancer. LTL is seeking special, punitive, and compensatory damages and asking the court to compel the scientists to release confidential information and retract their statements that cosmetic talc is linked to cancer.
June 2023
Although the lawsuits remain on hold, Judge Kaplan allowed the case of a 24-year-old mesothelioma victim to move forward due to his short life expectancy. He developed pericardial mesothelioma after his mother used Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder on him during infancy and early childhood. However, he cannot collect on any judgment until the hold is lifted.
May 2023
May 31: In an apparently desperate attempt to escape liability, Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary LTL Management filed a defamation lawsuit against Dr. Jacqueline Moline, a scientist who has testified against the baby powder manufacturer in court regarding her research linking asbestos in Johnson & Johnson’s personal care products to cancer.
The lawsuit alleges that her statements are false, that she knows they are false, and that she is motivated by fame and fortune.
May 11: An official committee of talc claimants filed a motion in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court alleging that Johnson & Johnson’s termination of the funding agreement between itself and its subsidiary amounts to a fraudulent transfer to manufacture financial stress in its continuing effort to use bankruptcy to defraud victims of their well-deserved compensation.
April 2023
April 20: With approximately 60,000 plaintiffs against it, Johnson & Johnson made its second attempt at filing for bankruptcy in New Jersey after raising the proposed asbestos trust fund to $8.9 billion. It promised that anyone diagnosed with cancer before April 1, 2023, would have access to funds within a year of the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy being approved.
Johnson & Johnson’s lawyers claim money would be available for future claimants for up to 25 years. While $8.9 billion sounds like a significant sum, it is not enough to cover even the medical bills of the current claimants, let alone future claimants. It will be necessary for at least 75 percent of claimants to agree before the bankruptcy can be approved on these terms, and this is not likely.
With this filing, Judge Michael Kaplan once again froze the 38,000 pending lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson for at least 60 days. However, the court will allow new lawsuits to be filed during this period.
April 3: The Third Circuit denied Johnson & Johnson’s motion to delay dismissing its Bankruptcy case, allowing the 38,000 pending lawsuits to move forward, but this was short-lived.
March 2023
Johnson & Johnson vowed to take its claims to the United States Supreme Court. Due to Johnson & Johnson’s stall tactics, the lawsuits have been frozen for 17 months.
February 2023
After former Judge Freda Wolfson retired, the Honorable Michael Shipp was assigned to oversee MDL 2738.
January 2023
January 30: In an important courtroom victory for plaintiffs, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Johnson & Johnson’s Texas Two-Step maneuver by dismissing the bankruptcy filed by the newly created subsidiary LTL Management, LLC. The decision was unanimous.
According to the ruling, only companies in financial distress can declare bankruptcy, but Johnson & Johnson had agreed to provide LTL with up to $61.5 billion to fund its liabilities. Judge Thomas Ambro wrote in his opinion that Johnson & Johnson serves as a “backstop, not unlike an ATM disguised as a contract.”
He also noted that Johnson & Johnson holds significant assets that are inconsistent with financial distress, including the following:
- $400 billion in equity value
- A AAA credit rating
- $31 billion in cash and marketable securities
- $13 billion sent to shareholders in 2020 and 2021
It is apparent that the court recognized that Johnson & Johnson attempted to take advantage of the U.S. Bankruptcy system so it could cheat legitimate asbestos exposure victims out of an opportunity to have their day in court without suffering a hit to its credit record or other consequences.
February 25: Federal Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan affirmed Johnson & Johnson’s bankruptcy maneuver, which will allow Johnson & Johnson to resolve approximately 38,000 lawsuits through bankruptcy rather than through the tort system. This move could cost victims of asbestos exposure billions of dollars in much-needed compensation.
In the meantime, all pending cases are halted until the bankruptcy is completed or dismissed.
Johnson & Johnson created a plan to use the infamous Texas Two-Step maneuver to sidestep liability for asbestos in its personal care products by moving liabilities out of the tort system and into bankruptcy. This plan was hatched in secrecy under a project known as “Project Plato,” which was known to just 30 staffers. They were ordered to keep even the existence of the project secret, even from their spouses.
This plan was implemented in October when it established a subsidiary in Texas, shifted its liabilities into the newly created subsidiary, and then had the new subsidiary, LTL Management, LLC, file for bankruptcy in North Carolina, thinking it would be a more favorable court. The case was moved to New Jersey.
June 1: The United States Supreme Court declined to hear Johnson & Johnson’s appeal of the $2.11 billion verdict, allowing it to stand.
June 23: The Missouri Court of Appeals of the Eastern District reduced the $4.69 billion verdict against Johnson & Johnson to $2.11 billion. Johnson & Johnson appealed this to the Missouri Supreme Court. The court denied a review, upholding the $2.11 billion verdict.
July 12: A St. Louis Jury rendered a $4.69 billion verdict in favor of 22 women who were represented in the first successful case to connect asbestos in Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder to ovarian cancer. Johnson & Johnson promised to appeal.
October 4: Fifty-four pending cases against Johnson & Johnson in 33 districts nationwide were transferred to multi-district litigation, or MDL. The cases have been assigned to Judge Freda L. Wolfson in the District of New Jersey. The case is MDL 2738 In Re: Johnson & Jonson Talcum Powder Products Marketing, Sales Practices, And Products Liability Litigation.
The Discovery of Asbestos in Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder
Until recently, talc was the main ingredient in Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder. Talc is a naturally occurring mineral mined from the earth. It is valued for its soft texture and ability to absorb moisture, which make it desirable for use in hygiene and cosmetic products.
Unfortunately, talc deposits are often located near asbestos deposits, resulting in asbestos contamination of the talc. Johnson & Johnson became aware that its own talc mines were contaminated at least as early as the 1950s.
Asbestos Contamination of Italian Talc
Beginning in 1957, Johnson & Johnson’s own testing of its products revealed that both raw talc and finished powders tested positive for various forms of asbestos. A report in 1957 showing the test results on talc from Pinerolo, Italy, revealed a finding that the talc was contaminated with amphiboles, a family of asbestos.
The 1958 follow-up report revealed an additional finding of asbestos in Johnson & Johnson’s talc, specifying that the specific form of asbestos is tremolite, part of the amphibole family.
Persistent Findings of Asbestos Contamination in Talc
The finding of asbestos in the 1957 and 1958 samples was only the beginning. Johnson & Johnson continued to find asbestos in varying forms in its testing. Throughout the 1970s, multiple samples of Johnson & Johnson’s talc tested positive for asbestos, according to an investigative report by Reuters.
Johnson & Johnson never made this information public. In 1964, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary purchased a cluster of talc mines in Vermont. By 1967, samples of talc from these mines tested positive for tremolite asbestos.
Johnson & Johnson continued mining from the same sources long after testing throughout the 1970s revealed asbestos contamination of chrysotile and tremolite asbestos.
Doctors Warn Johnson & Johnson About Talc in Baby Powder
In 1969, pediatricians began inquiring about the safety of Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder. Even the company’s former CEO and co-founder’s son raised concerns about the product’s safety for mothers and children.
Company doctors replied to these inquiries with assurances that the product was safe while at the same time expressing to Johnson & Johnson executives that if the product contains tremolite asbestos, it is not safe. The doctors even warned the company about the possibility of litigation.
In the early 1970s, Dr. Irving Selikoff, a prominent doctor leading a research team at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, discovered asbestos in talc and notified New York’s environmental protection chief, Jerome Kretchmer. This led to a Food & Drug Administration inquiry.
Johnson & Johnson’s Concealment Efforts
Johnson & Johnson issued an emphatic statement to the FDA that its talc-based products do not contain asbestos. But a prominent researcher, Arthur Langer, also found asbestos in Johnson & Johnson’s talc products. In response, Johnson & Johnson placed Dr. Selikoff, Mr. Kretchmer, and Mr. Langer on its list of “antagonistic personalities.”
Instead of doing the right thing and warning the public about the potential risks, Johnson and Johnson attempted to hide asbestos contamination from regulatory agencies, attempted to influence policies in its own favor, and continued to push the public narrative that its talc-based products were safe.
In 1976, Johnson & Johnson sent a falsified report to the FDA in an attempt to end the investigation. The company also attempted in vain to persuade the FDA to alter its testing policies to allow a testing method that only detects asbestos if the level is one percent or higher. The FDA’s proposed asbestos limit at the time was .1 percent.
Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder Today
Johnson & Johnson continued to primarily source its talc from the Vermont mines despite numerous positive tests for asbestos. In 2003, Johnson & Johnson began sourcing talc from China through Imerys Talc America.
Although FDA testing of several samples from these mines in 2009 did not reveal asbestos, Imerys Talc America is named in several lawsuits as asbestos-related illnesses from baby powder continue to emerge. In 2019, 33,000 bottles of talc-based Johnson & Johnson baby powder were recalled due to asbestos contamination.
As a result of billions of dollars in liability and growing public concern about the safety of talc-based products, Johnson & Johnson has ceased sales of talc-based baby powder in the United States and Canada, replacing it with cornstarch-based baby powder.
The Lanier Law Firm’s
Historical Johnson & Johnson Verdict
The Lanier Law Firm filed the first successful lawsuit connecting Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder to ovarian cancer on behalf of 22 women. The court ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $4.69 billion in damages, including $4.14 billion in punitive damages.
Punitive damages are awarded when the court finds evidence of egregious conduct, such as malice, gross negligence, or fraudulent concealment. In Johnson & Johnson’s case, the court found that Johnson & Johnson knew its baby powder was dangerous and fraudulently concealed this information while continuing to market the product as safe.
Johnson & Johnson appealed the $4.69 billion verdict to the Missouri Supreme Court, which upheld the verdict while reducing the award. Two of the cases were dismissed for jurisdictional reasons, and the punitive damages for the remaining 20 were reduced to $1.6 billion, resulting in a total award of $2.11 billion.
This is still a significant victory for our clients and a landmark case setting a precedent for future cases. The Missouri Supreme Court acknowledged that Johnson & Johnson’s conduct was reprehensible.
Johnson & Johnson appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to hear the case and allowed the verdict to stand.
“We and other trial lawyers and consumer advocates have been sounding the alarm for years. While this is good news for the future health of consumers, it’s troubling that J&J still refuses to accept responsibility for a deadly disease affecting tens of thousands of victims. The company’s own documents and dozens of peer-reviewed scientific studies have pointed to the connection between Baby Powder and ovarian cancer for decades.” – Mark Lanier
Johnson & Johnson Lawsuit FAQs
How To File a Lawsuit Against Johnson & Johnson
To file a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, you need an experienced lawyer with a track record of successfully standing up to large companies like Johnson & Johnson. Your attorney will need special knowledge of the science of asbestos exposure, the conduct of Johnson & Johnson, and the asbestos litigation laws in your state.
When you choose The Lanier Law Firm, you will get a compassionate and skilled team of attorneys with over 25 years of experience in asbestos exposure litigation. We were the first law firm to win a Johnson & Johnson ovarian cancer lawsuit for asbestos in baby powder, and our attorneys are national leaders in asbestos exposure litigation. With our attorneys on your side, you will be able to focus on treatment while we do the work of gathering evidence, filing your lawsuit, and fighting for the compensation you deserve.
What Compensation Is Available to Victims of Johnson & Johnson?
You may be entitled to economic, non-economic, and punitive damages if you have developed ovarian or other cancers from using Johnson & Johnson products.
- Economic damages – compensate for monetary losses, such as medical expenses, future medical expenses, and lost wages
- Non-economic damages – compensate for intangible losses, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of consortium, loss of society, and loss of enjoyment of life
- Punitive damages – non-compensatory damages awarded as a punishment against the defendant and a deterrence against similar misconduct
Punitive damages are not available against all defendants. To qualify, you must prove the defendant caused the injury through intentional misconduct or gross negligence or that the defendant engaged in fraudulent concealment. The record shows that Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that its products contained asbestos but knowingly and fraudulently kept this information from the public and continued marketing its talc-containing products as safe.
Despite numerous laboratory testing results and scientific studies that confirm the presence of asbestos in baby powder and a connection between baby powder and asbestos-related diseases, Johnson & Johnson continues to deny its talc-based products are unsafe. It continued marketing and selling talc-based baby powder in the United States until 2020.
What Is the Status of Johnson & Johnson’s Bankruptcy?
On September 20, 2024, Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary Red River Talc filed for bankruptcy in Texas. It is J&J’s third attempt to use the Texas two-step to end the baby powder cancer litigation. In the first two attempts, a judge in Johnson & Johnson’s home state of New Jersey rejected LTL’s bankruptcy bid. Texas is known for being more business-friendly than New Jersey. Moving the case to Texas under a new subsidiary is a clear attempt to game the system and circumvent the New Jersey court ruling.
Johnson & Johnson has offered a global settlement worth $10 billion to current and future plaintiffs. This time, Johnson & Johnson has asked current plaintiffs to vote on the settlement. J&J would need the support of at least 75 percent of the claimants before the bankruptcy court would approve the deal. J&J claims it has 83 percent support amid allegations that it improperly switched some votes.
The Texas judge is allowing the bankruptcy trial to proceed in Texas and has scheduled it to begin in January 2025. If the subsidiary is allowed to pursue bankruptcy, current plaintiffs will be limited to a significantly reduced payout. Meanwhile, the funds could become depleted before thousands of future plaintiffs have an opportunity to come forward.
Your Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder Lawsuit
Johnson & Johnson is a large corporation that has made billions of dollars selling a harmful product. We are dedicated to holding them accountable and getting justice for those they have harmed. If you or a loved one has developed ovarian cancer from extended Johnson & Johnson baby powder use, you may be entitled to compensation. We offer a free, confidential consultation and charge no upfront fees to handle your case. You only pay if we win.
Contact us online today or call (866) 735-2576 to schedule a free case review.
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