A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has tossed a record $417 million talcum powder verdict after finding “serious misconduct” on the part of the jury and insufficient evidence at trial.

Judge Maren Nelson's order, issued late Friday, granted a motion for new trial and a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict for Johnson & Johnson. A jury on Aug. 21 had found Johnson & Johnson failed to warn that its talcum powder products caused ovarian cancer.

But Nelson, in a 51-page decision, detailed a host of problems with the case, including the jury's consideration of attorney fees and taxes in its calculation of $70 million in compensatory damages.

“An agreement to exclude improper items of compensation such as taxes and fees in a verdict is improper, particularly where the jury was instructed as to what they could consider,” she wrote. “On the evidence here the court is constrained to conclude that consideration of items of damages such as taxes and fees was serious misconduct, giving rise to a presumption of prejudice.”

She also found the damages—$70 million in non-economic damages and $347 million in punitive damages—excessive.

The decision is a win for Johnson & Johnson's lead attorneys, Bart Williams and Manuel Cachán of Proskauer Rose.

“We are pleased with Judge Nelson's ruling today,” Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman Carol Goodrich wrote in an emailed statement on Friday afternoon. “Ovarian cancer is a devastating disease—but it is not caused by the cosmetic-grade talc we have used in Johnson's Baby Powder for decades. The science is clear and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder as we prepare for additional trials in the U.S.”

Mark Robinson of Robinson Calcagnie in Newport Beach, California, who represented the plaintiff, Eva Echeverria, said he would file an appeal immediately.

“We disagree with the court's decision,” he said in a statement. “A jury of Ms. Echeverria's peers found The Johnson and Johnson defendants liable. We will ask the appellate court to uphold this jury's verdict. We will continue to fight on behalf of all women who have been impacted by this dangerous product.”

Nelson, who heard oral arguments on Johnson & Johnson's posttrial motions last week, had been weighing whether to toss the verdict due to alleged juror misconduct or based on trial exhibits that failed to prove punitive damages.

The verdict was the first talcum powder trial in California. Previous verdicts totaling more than $300 million had come from Missouri juries, including a $72 million award that a Missouri Court of Appeals tossed on Wednesday.

Echeverria was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007 after decades of using Johnson & Johnson's talcum powder products. She died after the trial.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has tossed a record $417 million talcum powder verdict after finding “serious misconduct” on the part of the jury and insufficient evidence at trial.

Judge Maren Nelson's order, issued late Friday, granted a motion for new trial and a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict for Johnson & Johnson. A jury on Aug. 21 had found Johnson & Johnson failed to warn that its talcum powder products caused ovarian cancer.

But Nelson, in a 51-page decision, detailed a host of problems with the case, including the jury's consideration of attorney fees and taxes in its calculation of $70 million in compensatory damages.

“An agreement to exclude improper items of compensation such as taxes and fees in a verdict is improper, particularly where the jury was instructed as to what they could consider,” she wrote. “On the evidence here the court is constrained to conclude that consideration of items of damages such as taxes and fees was serious misconduct, giving rise to a presumption of prejudice.”

She also found the damages—$70 million in non-economic damages and $347 million in punitive damages—excessive.

The decision is a win for Johnson & Johnson's lead attorneys, Bart Williams and Manuel Cachán of Proskauer Rose.

“We are pleased with Judge Nelson's ruling today,” Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman Carol Goodrich wrote in an emailed statement on Friday afternoon. “Ovarian cancer is a devastating disease—but it is not caused by the cosmetic-grade talc we have used in Johnson's Baby Powder for decades. The science is clear and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder as we prepare for additional trials in the U.S.”

Mark Robinson of Robinson Calcagnie in Newport Beach, California, who represented the plaintiff, Eva Echeverria, said he would file an appeal immediately.

“We disagree with the court's decision,” he said in a statement. “A jury of Ms. Echeverria's peers found The Johnson and Johnson defendants liable. We will ask the appellate court to uphold this jury's verdict. We will continue to fight on behalf of all women who have been impacted by this dangerous product.”

Nelson, who heard oral arguments on Johnson & Johnson's posttrial motions last week, had been weighing whether to toss the verdict due to alleged juror misconduct or based on trial exhibits that failed to prove punitive damages.

The verdict was the first talcum powder trial in California. Previous verdicts totaling more than $300 million had come from Missouri juries, including a $72 million award that a Missouri Court of Appeals tossed on Wednesday.

Echeverria was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007 after decades of using Johnson & Johnson's talcum powder products. She died after the trial.