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Ristesund EOD Media Report
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J&J Ordered to Pay $55 Million Over Cancer Linked to Talc
May 2, 2016 | Bloomberg
By Margaret Cronin Fisk and Tim Bross
Johnson & Johnson must pay $55 million to a 62-year-old South Dakota woman who blamed her ovarian cancer on the company’s talcum powder in the second such trial loss this year. -
Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $55 million in talc-powder trial
May 2, 2016 | Reuters
By Jessica Dye
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) was ordered by a U.S. jury on Monday to pay $55 million to a woman who said that using the company’s talc-powder products for feminine hygiene caused her to develop ovarian cancer. -
J&J Hit With $55M Verdict in Another Big Loss over Talcum Powder
May 2, 2016 | National Law Jorunal
By Amanda Bronstad
Johnson & Johnson lost another verdict over claims that the use of talcum powder caused a woman’s ovarian cancer after a jury in Missouri awarded $55 million on Monday. -
BREAKING: J&J Hit With $55M Verdict In Ovarian Cancer Trial
May 2, 2016 | Law360
By Brandon Lowrey
A Missouri state jury on Monday awarded $55 million to a woman suing Johnson & Johnson alleging she developed ovarian cancer after decades of using talc baby powder on her genitals, marking a second major defeat for the company in as many trials over the alleged talc-ovarian cancer link. -
BREAKING - Missouri Jury Awards $55 Million in Talc-Based Powder Ovarian Cancer Lawsuit
May 2, 2016 | HarrisMartin
For the second time in two months, a Missouri state court jury has found for the plaintiffs in a talc-based powder exposure trial, awarding $55 million to a woman who contended that she developed endometrioid cancer as a result of using Johnson & Johnson’s product, HarrisMartin Publishing is reporting.
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J&J Ordered to Pay $55 Million Over Cancer Linked to Talc
May 2, 2016 | Bloomberg
By Margaret Cronin Fisk and Tim Bross
Johnson & Johnson must pay $55 million to a 62-year-old South Dakota woman who blamed her ovarian cancer on the company’s talcum powder in the second such trial loss this year.
State court jurors in St. Louis Monday awarded $5 million in compensation and $50 million in punitive damages to Gloria Ristesund, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 after using J&J’s talc-based feminine hygiene products for almost 40 years. Ristesund’s cancer, after she underwent a hysterectomy, is in remission.
In February, J&J lost a $72 million verdict in the same courthouse to the family of a woman who died of the disease.
J&J is accused in more than 1,000 lawsuits in state and federal courts of ignoring studies linking its Shower-to-Shower product and Johnson’s Baby Powder to ovarian cancer. Women contend the company knew the risk and failed to warn customers.
“Science has been simple and consistent over the last 40 years: There’s an increased risk of ovarian cancer from genital use of talc,’’ Allen Smith, Ristesund’s lawyer, told jurors Friday. Ristesund used talc for four decades unaware there were any health concerns, he said.
J&J denied any link between talc and ovarian cancer or any need to warn women. J&J will appeal the verdict, Carol Goodrich, a company spokeswoman, said in an e-mailed statement.
“Unfortunately, the jury’s decision goes against 30 years of studies by medical experts around the word that continue to support the safety of cosmetic talc,’’ Goodrich said. “Johnson & Johnson has always taken questions about the safety of our products extremely seriously.’’Third Trial
Ristesund’s lawsuit is the third to go to before a jury, preceded by the trial in the suit brought by the family of Jackie Fox, who died at 62. An earlier trial in federal court in South Dakota in 2013 ended with a jury finding that J&J was negligent while deciding not to award damages.
Thousands of women or their family members contacted plaintiffs’ lawyers after the Fox verdict, attorney Jere Beasley said in March. His firm, one of several representing the Fox family and Ristesund, is reviewing more than 5,000 potential claims, he said in an interview.
J&J documents showed the company was aware of health concerns since the mid-1970s, Smith told jurors Friday in closing arguments. A 1992 document suggested targeting women who were high users of talcum powder to boost sales, he said.
Ristesund incurred $174,000 in medical bills, plus pain and suffering, Smith told jurors. Talc was found in her ovarian tissue after the hysterectomy, he said.J&J Supplier
The jury didn’t award damages against J&J’s supplier and co-defendant, Imerys Talc America Inc.
Smith didn’t specify an amount for damages, while asking jurors to award enough to send a message to J&J.
“Compensating my client with a significant amount could change their behavior,’’ Smith said.
Ristesund had several risk factors for ovarian cancer, Christy Jones, a J&J attorney told jurors. That included a family history of cancer, having endometriosis and the fact she had no children, Jones said. “Nobody knows what causes ovarian cancer,’’ she said.
The case is Hogans v. Johnson & Johnson, 1422-CC09012-01, Circuit Court, St. Louis City, Missouri.
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Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay $55 million in talc-powder trial
May 2, 2016 | Reuters
By Jessica Dye
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) was ordered by a U.S. jury on Monday to pay $55 million to a woman who said that using the company’s talc-powder products for feminine hygiene caused her to develop ovarian cancer.
The verdict, which J&J plans to appeal, was the second straight trial loss for the company, which is facing about 1,200 lawsuits accusing it of not adequately warning consumers about its talc-based products' cancer risks.
Following a three-week trial in Missouri state court, jurors deliberated for about a day before returning a verdict for Gloria Ristesund. She was awarded $5 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages.
J&J spokeswoman Carol Goodrich said the verdict contradicted 30 years of research supporting the safety of cosmetic talc. The company intends to appeal and will keep defending its products' safety, she said.
Ristesund said she used J&J’s talc-based powder products – which include the well-known Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Powder – on her genitals for decades. According to her lawyers, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and had to undergo a hysterectomy and related surgeries. Her cancer is now in remission.
Jere Beasley, whose firm represents Ristesund, said his client was gratified with the verdict. The jury's decision should "end the litigation" and compel J&J to settle the remaining cases, he said.
J&J shares were down 18 cents in after-hours trading to $112.57.
The verdict followed a $72 million jury award from the same court in February to the family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer after years of using talc powder for feminine hygiene.
That verdict, which J&J is appealing, sparked renewed interest in talc-powder lawsuits among plaintiffs' lawyers, as well as consumers familiar with J&J's powder products. But scientists have told Reuters the evidence of a real danger is inconclusive.
Plaintiffs in talc litigation, which is concentrated in Missouri and New Jersey state courts, have accused J&J of failing for years to warn that talc was linked to an increased risk for ovarian cancer. J&J has said it acted properly in developing and marketing the products.
The only other case to be tried involving talc powder and ovarian cancer resulted in a mixed verdict in South Dakota federal court in 2013. While those jurors found J&J was negligent, they awarded no damages to the plaintiff, whose cancer was in remission at the time of the trial.
Reuters viewed the proceedings on Courtroom View Network.
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J&J Hit With $55M Verdict in Another Big Loss over Talcum Powder
May 2, 2016 | National Law Jorunal
By Amanda Bronstad
Johnson & Johnson lost another verdict over claims that the use of talcum powder caused a woman’s ovarian cancer after a jury in Missouri awarded $55 million on Monday.
The verdict comes after another Missouri jury on Feb. 22 awarded $75 million in the first award against Johnson & Johnson over talcum powder’s links to ovarian cancer.
Monday’s award, by a jury in St. Louis state court, included $50 million in punitive damages to Gloria Ristesund, according to a spokeswoman from Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles of Montgomery, Alabama, which represented the women in both cases.
A Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman wrote in an email that the company planned to appeal the verdict.
“Unfortunately, the jury’s decision goes against 30 years of studies by medical experts around the world that continue to support the safety of cosmetic talc,” wrote spokeswoman Carol Goodrich. “We understand that women and families affected by ovarian cancer are searching for answers, and we deeply sympathize with all who have been affected by this devastating disease with no known cause.”
Both trials came out of a single case that involves more than 60 plaintiffs. The first award, granted to the family of Jacqueline Fox, included $62 million in punitive damages.
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BREAKING: J&J Hit With $55M Verdict In Ovarian Cancer Trial
May 2, 2016 | Law360
By Brandon Lowrey
A Missouri state jury on Monday awarded $55 million to a woman suing Johnson & Johnson over allegations that she developed ovarian cancer after decades of using talc baby powder on her genitals, marking a second major defeat for the company in as many trials over the alleged talc-ovarian cancer link.
The verdict comes on the heels of a $72 million verdict in a similar case awarded in February. Scores of additional lawsuits remain pending in Missouri alleging a link between the product and ovarian cancer.
Monday's verdict in favor of plaintiff Gloria Ristesund came after four weeks of trial and about a day of deliberations. Jurors found J&J not liable on conspiracy claims, but liable on other product liability claims leveled against them in the suit.
Talc producer Imrys Talc America Inc. escaped liability in the case. J&J and its Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. subsidiary were each held 50 percent responsibe for Ristesund's damages.
The jury awarded Ristesund $5 million in compensatory damages and hit J&J with a $35 million punitive verdict. Its subsidiary was hit with $15 million in punitives.
During closing arguments Friday, the plaintiff's attorney Allen R. Smith Jr. of the Talc Litigation Group told jurors that Johnson & Johnson had discussed the product's ovarian cancer risks for decades but failed to warn consumers. He showed jurors a 1986 Johnson & Johnson internal document noting "retrospective studies have implicated talc use in the vaginal area with the incidence of ovarian cancer," saying it was one of many documents showing the company internally recognized there was a risk while denying it publicly.
"They can say whatever they want to with their fancy experts when they come up here that testify in litigation all the time," he said. "This is what they said behind closed doors, when they're in the house and they don't think anybody's listening. A whole different song and dance."
Smith declined to suggest to jurors an award amount for his client's pain and suffering. He only suggested that punitive damages ought to change the companies' behavior and "make them pay" for their conduct.
The trial is the second of dozens brought by women whose claims were consolidated in a complaint filed against J&J in the Circuit Court of St. Louis in 2014. In the first case, a jury in February slammed Johnson & Johnson with a $72 million verdict.
In the present suit, Ristesund, 62, said she was diagnosed with endometrioid ovarian cancer, affecting the lining of her ovaries, in 2011. She was 57 at the time.
She alleged that her use of talc on her genitals, in addition to her independently existing endometriosis, raised her ovarian cancer risk by 214 percent. Her suit names as defendants J&J and Imrys.
Johnson & Johnson attorney Christy D. Jones of Butler Snow LLP, meanwhile, argued that the evidence shows that talc is safe, and the studies suggesting otherwise are inconclusive or flawed. She told jurors that Ristesund's endometriosis was the likely cause of her cancer.
"The fact is, endometriosis is a recognized, significant risk factor for ovarian cancer," she said. "It's highly unlikely [that] Mrs. Ristesund would have had ovarian cancer if she had not had endometriosis. In fact, there's no proof, none, that she wouldn't have had ovarian cancer had she not used talc. None."
The trial comes after a jury in February awarded $72 million to the estate of Jacqueline Fox, who died of ovarian cancer after using the body powder for decades. It was reportedly the first time the company has been ordered to pay damages over the link between cancer and the talc used in its products.
The Fox verdict included $10 million in compensatory damages and $62 million in punitive damages.
Following Monday's verdict in the Ristesund case, an attorney for the plaintiff celebrated the win in a prepared statement.
"This second jury verdict affirms that Johnson & Johnson knew that its talcum powder products posed a risk to women's health, but they did nothing to warn the public," said Ted Meadows ofBeasley Allen. "There are safer alternatives made with cornstarch, which Johnson & Johnson also sells. There really was no reason for them to leave this product on the market. At the very least, they could have added a warning label to alert women to the risk of ovarian cancer. This verdict sends a message that the public is tired of corporations placing their profits over our health and trust."
J&J, meanwhile, released a statement vowing to appeal the verdict and saying the jury went against decades of medical studies that support talc's safety.
"We understand that women and families affected by ovarian cancer are searching for answers, and we deeply sympathize with all who have been affected by this devastating disease with no known cause," J&J Consumer spokeswoman Carol Goodrich said in a written statement. "Multiple scientific and regulatory reviews have determined that talc is safe for use in cosmetic products and the labeling on Johnson’s Baby Powder is appropriate."
J&J attorney Gene Williams added that the jury acted on evidence that "distorted" science.
"The scientific reality is that cosmetic talc does not cause cancer,” he said.
For more coverage of this trial, visit Courtroom View Network.
Ristesund is represented by Allen R. Smith Jr. of the Talc Litigation Group and Ted G. Meadows of Beasley Allen Law Firm.
Johnson & Johnson is represented by Christy D. Jones of Butler Snow LLP.
Imrys Talc America Inc. is represented by Nancy M. Erfle of Gordon & Rees LLP.
The case is Gloria Ristesund v. Johnson & Johnson, case number 1422-CC09012-01, in the 22nd Judicial Circuit of Missouri. -
BREAKING - Missouri Jury Awards $55 Million in Talc-Based Powder Ovarian Cancer Lawsuit
May 2, 2016 | HarrisMartin
For the second time in two months, a Missouri state court jury has found for the plaintiffs in a talc-based powder exposure trial, awarding $55 million to a woman who contended that she developed endometrioid cancer as a result of using Johnson & Johnson’s product, HarrisMartin Publishing is reporting.
The Missouri Circuit Court for St. Louis City reached the verdict just moments ago, after having deliberated for approximately one hour on Friday, April 29, and all day today.
Sources told HarrisMartin that the $55 million award included $5 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages. Jurors entered punitive damage awards in the amount of $35 million against Johnson & Johnson and $15 million against Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies.
The jury reached a defense verdict in favor of Imerys Talc America, sources confirmed to HarrisMartin.
Plaintiff Gloria Ristesund, 62, contended during trial that she was diagnosed with endometrioid ovarian cancer in 2011. Opening statements were delivered in the case on April 12; the defendants rested on April 28, and the jury heard closing arguments on April 29.
Judge Rex Burlison presided over the trial.
The case is the second talc-based powder case to proceed to trial in Missouri; the first ended in a $72 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies Inc. The same jury found in favor of defendant Imerys Talc America Inc on those claims. For more on this verdict, see the related story in HarrisMartin's Talcum Powder Litigation Report.
Sources told HarrisMartin that while the first case was selected by the plaintiffs for trial in the coordinated docket, Ristesund’s lawsuit was chosen by the defendants.
Among those entering appearances during jury selection in the instant case for the defendants were Gerard T. Noce and Beth A. Bauer of Hepler Broom LLC in St. Louis; Mary Anne Mellow of Sandberg, Phoenix & von Gontard, P.C., in St. Louis; and Nancy M. Erfle, Kenneth J. Ferguson, and Leslie Benitez of Gordon & Rees LLP.
Appearing for the plaintiffs during jury selection were Ted G. Meadows of Beasley Allen; Stephanie Rados and James G. Onder of Onder, Shelton, O’Leary & Peterson, LLC in St. Louis; and R. Allen Smith Jr., of The Smith Law Firm in Ridgeland, Miss.
Hogans, et al. v. Johnson & Johnson, et al., No. 1422-CC09012-01 (Mo. Cir. Ct., St. Louis City).
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