Ovarian Cancer Lawsuit Over J&J Talcum Powder Asbestos Risks Goes Before California Jury

California state court trial is now underway involving claims brought by two different women diagnosed with ovarian cancer from talcum powder exposure.

The first of three highly anticipated talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits began last week in a Los Angeles courtroom, involving allegations that Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower-to-Shower talc-based products were contaminated with asbestos, causing two different women to develop cancer.

The manufacturer currently faces more than 90,000 other Baby Powder lawsuits and Shower-to-Shower lawsuits in state and federal courts, most involving similar claims that women developed ovarian cancer or other reproductive malignancies after applying the powder to their genitals.

The first claims were filed more than a decade ago and delayed after Johnson & Johnson tried to resolve the litigation through multiple failed bankruptcy attempts, which were roundly rejected by federal judges.

Amid these failed attempts to limit liability, juries have repeatedly returned large verdicts against the company, imposing punitive damages for what they concluded was a willingness to endanger women’s lives for the sake of profit.

Despite Johnson & Johnson’s vow to appeal every verdict, the momentum has continued in recent weeks, with a Florida jury ordering the company to pay Irene Casaretto $20 million for the death of her husband, who died of mesothelioma. Two weeks earlier, a California jury hit Johnson & Johnson with a $966 million verdict in favor of the family of another woman, Mae Moore, who died due to similar circumstances.

The bulk of the litigation has been filed in federal courts, where claims brought by women throughout the U.S. have been consolidated into a talcum powder cancer lawsuit MDL, or multidistrict litigation in the District of New Jersey, with U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp overseeing coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings. However, hundreds of claims have also been filed in California state court.

To test the strengths and weaknesses of the sides’ arguments and evidence that will be repeated throughout thousands of similar trials, both federal and state judges plan to hold early bellwether test trials. The first of three talcum powder bellwether trials got underway in California state court last week, which will be closely watched by women nationwide who developed ovarian cancer after using Johnson’s Baby Powder or Shower-to-Shower.

Jurors heard the first opening arguments last Thursday, involving two claims that have been combined for one trial. The lawsuits were filed by Monica Kent and Deborah Schultz, both of whom are currently being treated for ovarian cancer. The trial is expected to last about four weeks.

In their opening statements, attorneys for the plaintiffs told jurors that Johnson & Johnson has known for decades that its talc had the potential to be contaminated with asbestos, promising to show internal corporate documents detailing their concerns about the potential risks, and then their effort to obscure that information from the public and federal regulators. Defendants told jurors there is no sound science behind the plaintiffs’ claims.

Ovarian Cancer Lawsuit Bellwether Trials

While the outcome of the trial will have no binding effect on other claims, it will be used to gauge how juries may respond to evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout the litigation. What those juries decide could help determine the potential size of any talcum powder cancer settlement payouts Johnson & Johnson ultimately agrees to pay to resolve future claims.

The first federal bellwether trial is expected to begin late this year or early 2026, and will involve a talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit brought by Carter Judkins, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in December 2016, after using Johnson’s Baby Powder as part of her daily routine for more than 30 years.

There are also other trials scheduled for next year in New Jersey and Pennsylvania state courts.

If the parties do not reach a talcum powder cancer lawsuit settlement agreement after the trials have concluded, judges may have to begin planning individual trial dates for a mass of lengthy and expensive litigation that would heavily burden state and federal court systems.

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