Testimony on decades of concealment anchors trial win for two women with ovarian cancer

A Los Angeles Superior Court jury today delivered a $40 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson.

The trial featured two California women who developed ovarian cancer after decades of using the company's talc-based baby powder products. The award to plaintiffs Monica Kent and Deborah Schultz, and her husband, Dr. Albert Schultz, totals $40 million in compensatory damages.

The verdict followed a four-week trial that featured testimony from former United States Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. David Kessler, who led the agency from 1990 to 1997 under two presidential administrations. He testified that J&J's concealment of asbestos evidence spanned more than five decades. Referring to internal J&J documents dating back to the 1970s, Dr. Kessler testified that Johnson & Johnson knew Johnson’s Baby Powder contained asbestos and intentionally put the public health at risk.

“These jurors heard and saw that Johnson & Johnson withheld crucial information, manipulated scientific research and misled regulators for decades,” Andy Birchfield of the Beasley Allen law firm, lead trial counsel for the plaintiffs, said. “These brave women trusted J&J with their health and safety, only to be betrayed by a company that knew about the dangers but kept the truth hidden.”

Jurors also heard testimony from leading medical experts, including a gynecologic oncologist, epidemiologist and pathologist, about the scientific evidence supporting talc use as a key causation factor for the plaintiffs’ ovarian cancer. That testimony included the introduction of peer-reviewed studies demonstrating that frequent genital use of talc increases the risk of ovarian cancer by at least 50%, with consistent long-term use potentially doubling that risk.

“This verdict sends an unmistakable message that no amount of legal maneuvering or corporate intimidation will prevent juries from holding J&J accountable," Leigh O'Dell, Co-Lead of the MDL Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, said. “The truth came out in this courtroom, and the scientific evidence accumulated over the years is powerful. We will not stop until every woman harmed by J&J's talc products receives the justice she deserves."

The verdict marks a milestone as the first plaintiffs’ verdict in a talc-ovarian cancer case since 2021; that year, Johnson & Johnson began the first of what became three unsuccessful attempts to force a settlement of ovarian cancer claims through bankruptcy, halting all scheduled trials on these claims. The California-coordinated proceedings have moved forward independently as Judge Theresa Traber selected six cases for bellwether trials to be tried in pairs, with the case of Kent and Schultz designated as the first.

Meanwhile, bellwether trials for the more than 70,000 claims filed in the federal multidistrict litigation in New Jersey are anticipated to begin next year, together with multiple bellwether trials in state courts in California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The case is Monica Kent v. Johnson & Johnson et al., Case No. 17CV318672, and Deborah Schultz et al. v. Johnson & Johnson et al., Case No. 20CV0476, in the Superior Court of the State of California in Los Angeles. The cases were consolidated under the state’s JCCP No. 4872, Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Cases.

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“These brave women trusted J&J with their health and safety, only to be betrayed by a company that knew about the dangers but kept the truth hidden," said plaintiffs' attorney Andy Birchfield.