Johnson & Johnson baby powder. Photo: MailHamdi/Shutterstock.comCalifornia Jury Hands Johnson & Johnson a Defense Verdict in Talc Trial
A Los Angeles jury gave Johnson & Johnson a defense verdict Wednesday in the latest mesothelioma trial over its baby powder.
October 09, 2019 at 09:02 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The Recorder
A Los Angeles jury gave Johnson & Johnson a defense verdict in the latest mesothelioma trial over its baby powder.
The verdict, announced Wednesday, comes one year after the first trial in the same case ended in a mistrial. This time, the jury in Los Angeles Superior Court found that Johnson & Johnson was not liable for Carolyn Weirick's mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer she was diagnosed with in 2017.
"The jury got it right—Johnson's baby powder does not contain asbestos and was not the cause of the plaintiff's disease," wrote Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman Jennifer Taylor in an email. "This is the seventh jury that has found in favor of Johnson & Johnson, and importantly, all of the verdicts against the company that have been through the appeals process have been overturned. Today's decision, and this trial track record, are consistent with the decades of clinical evidence and scientific studies by medical experts around the world that support the safety of Johnson's baby powder."
The verdict follows Tuesday's mistrial in the first talcum powder trial in Georgia over Johnson & Johnson's baby powder, prompted by a deadlocked jury. That case was among thousands of lawsuits alleging Johnson & Johnson's talcum powder products caused ovarian cancer. In cases alleging mesothelioma claims, juries have come out with a mixed bag of defense verdicts and mistrials, along with awards of up to $117 million.
Weirick's attorney, Jay Stuemke, shareholder at Simon Greenstone & Panatier in Dallas, did not respond to a request for comment.
In other mesothelioma cases in Los Angeles Superior Court, the Simon Greenstone firm got a $40 million verdict last month and a $25.75 million verdict last year. The firm also won a $37.3 million verdict last month in New Jersey's Middlesex County Superior Court.
In Weirick's first trial, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Margaret Oldendorf spent five days attempting to get the jury to reach a verdict. She interviewed jurors, reiterated jury instructions, ordered more oral arguments and replaced a juror with an alternate.
But, the jury was deadlocked.
The retrial was before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Cary Nishimoto. Johnson & Johnson was represented by John Ewald, a New York partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
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