Women Will Have Voice in Any Settlement for Talcum Powder Lawsuits: Court

Talcum powder settlement talks are set to get underway next month, with lawyers to meet with the court for a final pretrial conference on November 5, before the first federal bellwether claim goes before a jury.

A U.S. Magistrate Judge presiding over the federal talcum powder lawsuits indicates that lawyers recently appointed to negotiate potential settlement agreements in the litigation must solicit the views of women involved in the litigation and ensure every plaintiff has an opportunity to set forth their respective positions on any proposed resolution.

As lawyers prepare for the first of more than 90,000 federal Baby Powder lawsuits and Shower-to Shower lawsuits filed against Johnson & Johnson to go before a jury, the court has ordered a small group of attorneys to participate in mediation sessions, in hopes of working out a global settlement for claims alleging that women developed ovarian cancer and other reproductive cancers after regular exposure to asbestos particles in the talc-based powders.

Women began filing the first talcum powder cancer lawsuits more than a decade ago, and claims brought throughout the federal court system have been consolidated as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the District of New Jersey since October 2026, with U.S. District Judge Matthew Shipp currently presiding over coordinated discovery and preparing a group of claims for bellwether trials.

The litigation was delayed for years, after Johnson & Johnson made three failed attempts to drive any settlement through the U.S. bankruptcy system, where recoveries and legal options for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer would be severely limited. However, after U.S. bankruptcy judges rejected those attempts, the litigation is now moving forward in the MDL, where the first claim is expected to be ready to go before a jury in the next few months.

In July, U.S. Magistrate Judge Rukhsanah L. Singh granted a request by plaintiffs to appoint a mediator to help facilitate talcum powder injury lawsuit settlement negotiations, despite claims by Johnson & Johnson that it intends to fight the remaining litigation. Judge Singh also made it clear she expected the parties to negotiate in good faith, indicating that initial talks will begin on September 4, 2025.

Magistrate Judge Singh appointed three attorneys to serve as a negotiation committee, including Plaintiffs’ Lead Negotiation Counsel (PLNC), but according to a court order (PDF) issued on August 4, some plaintiffs’ attorneys raised concerns that no one on the negotiating committee was part of the opposition to Johnson & Johnson’s most recent bankruptcy attempt, which included a $9 billion settlement offer.

Some plaintiffs’ attorneys called for an application process for the PLNC, but Judge Singh declined, saying she saw no reason the current plaintiffs negotiating committee (PNC) would not represent plaintiffs’ interests to the best of their abilities.

“First, the two members of the PNC include an attorney at a law firm designated on the PSC and an attorney serving on the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee. In the past nine years that this matter has been pending, the Court is unaware of any concerns that these members have failed in their obligations to pursue the diverse interests of Plaintiffs in this matter.”

-Magistrate Judge Rukhsanah L. Singh, In Re: Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Products Marketing, Sales Practices, and Product Liability Litigation – Order

The order also noted there have been conflicts between various talcum powder cancer attorneys regarding how to resolve the litigation. Magistrate Judge Singh noted that plaintiffs’ attorneys had trouble reaching consensus on how to collect plaintiffs’ votes on the last proposed bankruptcy settlement effort, resulting in voting errors and disagreements. While the bankruptcy court did not find that these problems occurred in bad faith, the magistrate judge has indicated the problems raise concerns about how informed plaintiffs are, and whether their opinions are being adequately solicited.

As a result, the Court added another responsibility to the PLNC’s duties, that of making certain all women are able to express and share their views and perspectives on any potential settlement agreements.

Talcum Powder Lawsuit Bellwether Trials

If the negotiations do not succeed, the Court will move forward with plans to hold a series of bellwether trials, designed to see how juries will react to evidence and testimony likely to be repeated throughout the litigation.

Judge Shipp selected an ovarian cancer lawsuit filed by Carter Judkins for the first bellwether trial, involving claims that Judkins was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2016, after using Johnson’s Baby Powder for decades. In another court order (PDF) issued on August 4, Magistrate Judge Singh scheduled a final pretrial conference in the case for November 5, 2025, indicating that all trial counsel must attend.

The order calls for the parties to submit a joint final pretrial order at least one week before the conference. However, no final trial date was set.

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.