Trial Underway for Another Talcum Powder Cancer Lawsuit in California

After prolonged use of Vi-Jon’s talcum powder, mesothelioma was detected less than a year before going metastatic and spreading to a man’s liver.

A trial is underway in California state court over claims alleging that a man developed mesothelioma due to his use of Vi-Jon’s talcum powder products, which he says were contaminated with asbestos.

The original complaint was filed by John Maricich and his wife, Kym, last March in California state court, involving a long list of defendants who were linked to the manufacturing, distribution and sale of Vi-Jon’s talcum powder products. However, by the time of the trial only Combe Incorporated remained as a defendant.

Talcum powder product manufacturers have faced claims that their products were contaminated with asbestos for more than a decade, and have seen product recalls and changes in testing procedures in recent years. Asbestos exposure, even at low levels, is known to cause serious and often life-threatening health conditions, including lung cancer and mesothelioma.

Exposure to asbestos is the only known cause of mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer that forms in the lining of the lungs or abdomen. The disease is especially dangerous because it has a long latency period, often taking decades for symptoms to appear. By the time it is diagnosed, as in Maricich’s case, mesothelioma is typically already at an advanced stage. This leaves patients with very limited treatment options, and the disease is ultimately fatal.

As a result, tens of thousands of talcum powder cancer lawsuits have been filed in state and federal courts, mostly consisting of Baby Powder lawsuits and Shower-to-Shower lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson. Regardless of the manufacturer, the plaintiffs claim that talcum powder-based cosmetics products contained asbestos, increasing their risks of developing cancer.

Maricich said he began experiencing symptoms linked to mesothelioma in September 2024 and was diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer about a year earlier, after years of using Vi-Jon products.

Opening statements began in the California Superior Court for Alameda County on January 5, with the jury hearing testimony from expert witnesses throughout last week. The trial continues this week.

However, before the trial began, the court removed Kym Maricich’s claims of loss of consortium, after determining that, legally, she married her husband after he was diagnosed with mesothelioma, which the couple contested.

The couple appealed that decision, but their appeal was rejected in November by the California Court of Appeal’s First Appellate District.

Talcum Powder Lawsuits

Most similar talcum powder asbestos contamination lawsuits that remain unresolved are filed against Johnson & Johnson, which delayed the litigation for years while attempting to resolve it through multiple bankruptcies that were all rejected as unfair by federal judges.

Since then, the manufacturer has been hit by a series of massive, multi-million-dollar verdicts by juries who frequently determine the company knowingly and recklessly endangered the lives of its customers.

Last month, Johnson & Johnson was hit by the largest verdict so far, being ordered by a Baltimore jury to pay a woman $1.5 billion for her peritoneal mesothelioma diagnosis. That same month, a Minnesota jury ordered the company to pay $65.5 million to Anna Jean Houghton Carley, who also said she developed mesothelioma because of talcum powder use. A separate California jury awarded $40 million to two women who filed talcum powder cancer lawsuits after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

While thousands of claims have been filed in state courts, about 90,000 talcum powder lawsuits have been consolidated into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the District of New Jersey, where they are currently being overseen by U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

The first federal bellwether trial is expected to begin early next year, and will involve 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 using Johnson’s Baby Powder as part of her daily routine.

While the outcome of the bellwether trials will have no binding effect on other claims, they 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.

Sign up for more legal news that could affect you or your family.