Additional Talks To Settle Talcum Powder Cancer Lawsuits Set for April 13

Negotiations are being held prior to the first federal bellwether trial involving allegations that Johnson & Johnson talcum powder caused ovarian cancer.

A federal judge has ordered negotiators for Johnson & Johnson and plaintiffs behind thousands of talcum powder cancer lawsuits to meet next month in an effort to determine whether a global settlement can be reached before a large number of claims proceed to trial.

Currently, Johnson & Johnson faces about 90,000 Baby Powder lawsuits and Shower-to-Shower lawsuits pending in courts nationwide, each alleging that long-term use of talc-based products caused ovarian cancer and other reproductive malignancies, potentially due to asbestos contamination.

Plaintiffs claim the company was aware of the health risks for decades yet continued to market its talcum powder products for use on women’s genitals. According to the women, that routine exposure to the contaminated talc caused the development of their cancer.

Due to the growing number of claims filed in federal courts nationwide, all federal cases have been centralized before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in the District of New Jersey for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

After years of litigation with no federal bellwether trials yet conducted, the court is now pushing the parties toward meaningful settlement discussions, as the litigation moves closer to a phase where large groups of cases may be prepared for trial if no resolution is reached.

Judge Shipp has been preparing the parties to hold the first federal bellwether trial later this year, involving a talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit brought by Carter Judkins, who indicates she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in December 2016, after more than 30 years of Johnson’s Baby Powder use.

The case is supposed to be the first in a series of early test trials that will help the parties gauge how juries will weigh evidence, testimony and arguments that would likely be repeated in thousands of cases if no global talcum powder settlement is reached to resolve the litigation.

However, the Court has also been pushing the parties to engage in talks to settle talcum powder cancer lawsuits, in hopes of avoiding cases flooding federal and state judicial systems, which could clog up the nation’s courtrooms for years.

Talcum Powder Lawsuit Settlement Negotiations

Last summer, Judge Shipp appointed a special mediator to help facilitate settlement negotiations at the request of plaintiffs. U.S. Magistrate Judge Rukhsanah L. Singh then ordered the parties to engage in settlement talks, which were held in September.

On March 13, an entry on the court docket noted that Magistrate Judge Singh was ordering the parties to meet for another round of settlement talks ahead of the Judkins trial. She called for the mediator, plaintiffs’ lead negotiation counsel, the defendants’ lead negotiation counsel, “and a representative of Defendants with authority to bind Defendants in resolution” to attend the negotiations.

“On September 4, 2025, the Court hosted the initial mediation session. Given the status of this matter, the Court finds good cause to schedule an additional mediation session on April 13, 2026.”

– U.S. Magistrate Judge Rukhsanah L. Singh

If these negotiations do not result in a settlement agreement, the court will likely move forward with the bellwether trials. While the outcomes of these trials will not be binding on other claims, they will be closely watched to see how juries weigh the strengths and weaknesses of both sides’ arguments, and the size of any payouts jurors award to women with the most commonly cited forms of cancer.

Those outcomes could lead to additional negotiations and a potential talcum powder cancer lawsuit settlement agreement. However, Johnson & Johnson has previously indicated it intends to continue to fight the litigation, which could result in the flood of individual trial dates these negotiations are designed to avoid.

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