Missouri's highest court has refused to consider Johnson & Johnson's appeal of a $2.12bn damages award to women who blamed their ovarian cancer on asbestos in its baby powder and other talc products, reports Reuters. The Missouri Supreme Court let stand a 23 June decision by a state appeals court, which upheld a jury’s July 2018 finding of liability but reduced J&J’s pay-out from $4.69bn after dismissing claims by some of the 22 plaintiffs.
Johnson & Johnson said it plans to appeal to the US Supreme Court. It said the verdict was the product of a “fundamentally flawed trial, grounded in a faulty presentation of the facts,” and was “at odds with decades of independent scientific evaluations confirming Johnson’s Baby Powder is safe, does not contain asbestos and does not cause cancer.”
Reuters reports that the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company also said it will set aside a $2.1bn reserve for the verdict, to be reflected in its year-end financial results.
The company said last month it faces more than 21,800 lawsuits claiming that its talc products cause cancer because of contamination from asbestos, a known carcinogen.
[link url="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-johnson-johnson-talc-ruling/johnson-johnson-to-appeal-2-12-billion-talc-verdict-to-u-s-supreme-court-idUKKBN27J2N4"]Full Reuters report[/link]