Talcum Powder Ovarian Cancer Lawsuit Selected for First Federal Bellwether Trial

Case was announced as plaintiffs lawyers seek the appointment of a mediator, to work with the parties on talcum powder settlement talks.

A New Hampshire woman’s talcum powder lawsuit has been selected by plaintiffs attorneys to be the first claim that will go before a jury in the federal court system, where more than 90,000 similar lawsuits over the development of ovarian cancer from Johnson’s Baby Powder or Shower-to-Shower are currently pending.

Carter Judkins originally filed her complaint (PDF) in May 2019, and the trial will be closely watched by parties involved in the litigation, as a potential “bellwether” to gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that is likely to be repeated throughout the litigation. 

While the outcome will not be binding on other plaintiffs, it is expected to significantly influence negotiations to settle Baby Powder lawsuits and Shower-to-Shower lawsuits brought by tens of thousands of other women over the past decade. 

Each of the claims raises similar allegations that Johnson & Johnson failed to warn women of the risks of ovarian cancer linked to its talc-based products, indicating that the company knew its raw ingredients may be contaminated with asbestos, but still marketed the products to be used on women’s genitals.

While all talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits were consolidated in the federal court system more than a decade ago, pretrial proceedings have been delayed over the past few years, after Johnson & Johnson made repeated attempts to force the  litigation into the U.S. bankruptcy system.

However, a third and final talcum powder bankruptcy settlement plan was rejected by a federal bankruptcy judge in March 2025, which has now cleared the litigation to move forward with a series of bellwether trials expected to get underway before U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp in the District of New Jersey.

Following a status conference last month, Judge Shipp requested that the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee identify a single talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuit to serve as the first federal bellwether trial. In a letter (PDF) sent to Judge Shipp on June 24, the committee selected Carter Judkins’ lawsuit as the first claim.

In her lawsuit, Judkins indicated she used Johnson’s Baby Powder beginning in about 1971 and continued to use it through 2003. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in December 2016.

Plaintiffs Request Mediator To Promote Talcum Powder Settlements

While the parties prepare the Judkins case for the first talcum powder bellwether trial, the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee sent another letter (PDF) to Judge Shipp on June 23, asking for the court to appoint Fouad Kurdi as a mediator, and requested the judge to order the parties to participate in good faith negotiations.

In a response (PDF) submitted on June 27, attorneys for Johnson & Johnson opposed the request. While they did not object to the appointment of Mr. Kurdi as mediator in the MDL, the defendants indicated that they did not believe that such talcum powder settlement talks are necessary or likely to be productive at this time.

“The Johnson & Johnson Defendants made a good faith effort to resolve these matters during the recent bankruptcy proceedings, and that offer was ultimately rejected by the same Plaintiffs’ counsel here. Given the parties’ impasse, the Johnson & Johnson Defendants respectfully submit that the most appropriate path forward is to focus on getting these cases ready for trial.” 

-Jessica Brennan, Esq., Attorney for Johnson & Johnson 

Retired Judge Appointed To Rule on Pretrial Motions

Before the Judkins case goes before a jury, the Court has agreed to reconsider prior motions filed by Johnson & Johnson to exclude certain plaintiffs’ expert witnesses from testifying at trial.

Retired U.S. District Judge Freeda Wolfson previously ruled on these motions in 2020, clearing the experts to testify under the federal Daubert standard. However, given new studies and changes in the federal law over the past five years, Judge Shipp has directed the parties to prepare new briefing on the motions.

Earlier this month, Judge Shipp recommended that Judge Wolfson come back from retirement to serve as a Special Master, for the purposes of addressing the admissibility of the expert testimony. On June 19, plaintiffs (PDF) indicated they approved of Judge Wolfson’s appointment. Defendants also agreed to her appointment in a letter (PDF) submitted on June 23.

In response to the request, Judge Wolfson provided an affidavit (PDF), noting that she has already overseen Daubert issues for these cases before Johnson & Johnson’s attempted bankruptcies and is in a very good position to do so again.

“In early June 2025, Hon. Michael A. Shipp, U.S.D.J., who presides over Talc MDL, informed me that the Court was considering appointing me to serve as a Special Master to assist the Court in resolving Fed. R. Civ. P. 702 Daubert-related Motions filed by the parties in the Talc MDL. I am intimately familiar with the Talc MDL, because I was the former District Judge who presided over this matter prior to my retirement from the District of New Jersey.”

-Judge Freda L. Wolfson, Affidavit of Freda L. Wolfson Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 53

The affidavit notes that Judge Wolfson works for a firm that represented Johnson & Johnson but had no connection with its talcum powder MDL litigation, and Judge Wolfson indicated she has never worked on any of the Johnson & Johnson cases. Plaintiffs and defendants indicated they trusted her judgment would be impartial.

In an order (PDF) issued on June 26, Judge Shipp finalized the appointment, indicating that it is “necessary and appropriate” to avoid further delays in the litigation, given numerous pending pretrial disputes.

Following bellwether trials held before Judge Shipp in the MDL, if the parties are still unable to negotiate talcum powder ovarian cancer settlements to resolve large numbers of claims, the court may begin remanding large numbers of cases back to various different U.S. District Courts for individual trial dates in the future.