Johnson & Johnson Found Not Liable in California Talcum Trial

After almost three days of deliberation following a four week trial, a Los Angeles area jury reached a defense verdict in a mesothelioma case against Johnson & Johnson and its supplier Imerys Talc America, Inc. In closing arguments, the plaintiff urged the jury to consider evidence that allegedly documented Johnson & Johnson’s long awareness of asbestos contamination in its talc mines in attributing the plaintiff’s disease to the defendants. Defense arguments focused on a lack of asbestos markers in the plaintiff’s lungs, and pointed to breast cancer radiation treatments as an alternate cause of the mesothelioma. The jury found that the defendants’ talc was not defective or unsafe, that the defendants did not fail to warn of potential risks, that the talc was not negligently designed, and that the talc did not fail to perform safely under consumer expectations.