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J&J Talc 6/8
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Talc Plaintiffs Move to Remand Recently Removed Case; Say Courts Have Declined Jurisdiction in Similar Cases ‘Countless Times’
Jun 7, 2016 | Harris Martin Publishing
Plaintiffs asserting talc-based powder exposure claims have moved to remand a recently removed lawsuit, arguing that courts have repeatedly rejected the defendants’ fraudulent misjoinder argument. -
Defendants Seek to Supplement Record in Appeal of Order Dismissing Talc-Based Powder Exposure Suit
Jun 7, 2016 | Harris Martin Publishing
The defendants appealing a federal court order granting a plaintiff’s motion to voluntarily dismiss a talc-based powder exposure case have moved to supplement the record, arguing that a scheduling order recently filed in state court is “highly relevant” to the instant proceedings. -
Missouri Court Hears Defense Motions for New Trial and JNOV in Talc Case That Ended in $72 Million Verdict
Jun 7, 2016 | Harris Martin Publishing
Motions filed by Johnson & Johnson and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies Inc. for a new trial and for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict in a case that ended in a $72 million verdict have been heard and submitted, according to a recent docket entry. -
Are Baby Powder Manufacturers Targeting African-American Women?
Jun 7, 2016 | The Ring of Fire Network
A recent media story puts a racist slant on the ongoing saga of Johnson & Johnson’s sale of its now-infamous Baby Powder and the strong possibility that the company has known of its potential carcinogenicity for two generations. -
The tragic truth about talcum powder finally comes out
Jun 7, 2016 | West Virginia Record
By Zak Zatezalo
Talcum powder is back in the news following a May 2 verdict against Johnson & Johnson, in which it was ordered to pay $55 million to a woman who contracted ovarian cancer after years of her using Johnson’s Baby Powder for feminine hygiene.
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Jun 7, 2016 | Harris Martin Publishing
Plaintiffs asserting talc-based powder exposure claims have moved to remand a recently removed lawsuit, arguing that courts have repeatedly rejected the defendants’ fraudulent misjoinder argument.
In the June 3 motion filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the plaintiffs said that prior federal courts have even remanded similar cases sua sponte.
The underlying suit was filed by 80 plaintiffs, all of whom alleged that they developed ovarian cancer as a result of using the defendants’ talc-based powder products, including Shower-to-Shower and Baby Powder.
The defendants removed the suit from the Missouri 22nd ...
Subscription required, for full text: http://harrismartin.com/article/20914/talc-plaintiffs-move-to-remand-recently-removed-case-say-courts-have-declined-jurisdiction-in-similar-cases-countless-times/
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Defendants Seek to Supplement Record in Appeal of Order Dismissing Talc-Based Powder Exposure Suit
Jun 7, 2016 | Harris Martin Publishing
The defendants appealing a federal court order granting a plaintiff’s motion to voluntarily dismiss a talc-based powder exposure case have moved to supplement the record, arguing that a scheduling order recently filed in state court is “highly relevant” to the instant proceedings.
In a June 3 motion, the defendants told the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that the case in which the underlying claims were supposed to be consolidated for trial is no longer a multi-plaintiff trial, thereby mooting the District Court’s order.
Michael Blaes filed the underlying lawsuit, contending that his wife’s ovarian cancer was ...
Subscription required, for full text: http://harrismartin.com/article/20912/defendants-seek-to-supplement-record-in-appeal-of-order-dismissing-talc-based-powder-exposure-suit/
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Jun 7, 2016 | Harris Martin Publishing
Motions filed by Johnson & Johnson and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies Inc. for a new trial and for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict in a case that ended in a $72 million verdict have been heard and submitted, according to a recent docket entry.
According to the Missouri Circuit Court for St. Louis City online docket, the court heard the motions on May 31.
Subscription required, for full text: The plaintiffs had recently opposed the defense motions, refuting the defendants’ position that the jury’s award was excessive, and arguing that it “well within the bounds of what Missouri law recognizes ...
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Are Baby Powder Manufacturers Targeting African-American Women?
Jun 7, 2016 | The Ring of Fire Network
A recent media story puts a racist slant on the ongoing saga of Johnson & Johnson’s sale of its now-infamous Baby Powder and the strong possibility that the company has known of its potential carcinogenicity for two generations. The company, once the face of “America’s Most Trusted Brand,” now stands accused of aggressively marketing the product to African-American women after white women started backing away from it.
According to litigation attorney Jim Onder, counsel for a now-deceased black woman whose family was awarded $72 million, there are internal documents to prove that Johnson & Johnson has long been aware of the connection between talcum powder and ovarian cancer. Speaking to the Atlanta Black Star, Onder said, “The evidence is real clear that Johnson & Johnson has known about the dangers associated with talcum powder for over 30 years…instead of giving a warning, what they did was target the groups most at risk for developing ovarian cancer” – in this case, black women.
Onder is not the only one to come to this realization. Omise’eke Natasha Tinsley, a professor of African Studies at the University of Texas and contributing writer to Time magazine, points out that “Corporations have long taken advantage of the beauty rituals that African American women love.” In a recent article, she writes, “Like pressing our hair and lotioning our legs, douching and deodorizing vaginas is something black women teach our daughters and sister-friends teach our friends.” According to research cited by Tinsley, black women employ talcum powder for such purposes twice as much as their white counterparts.
In another article published in a 2011 issue of Advertising and History Review, historian Michelle Ferranti points out that such practices have their origins in racial stereotypes and racist perceptions going back hundreds of years. Tinsley herself adds,
Johnson & Johnson and other companies are ready to profit from these myths of the excessive black vagina. They’re willing to capitalize on our internalized misogynoir even if we die in the process. For decades, companies, including Johnson & Johnson, continued marketing to encourage black women to spend money on talcum power, which could cause cancer in our reproductive organs even as they promise to ‘freshen’ them. Because buyers were women, they were the advertisers’ targets; because they were women, they were vulnerable to side effects the companies never exposed.
A recent study from the University of Virginia, published in Cancer Epidemiology, now indicates that women who consistently apply talcum powder to their genitalia run a 40% risk of contracting ovarian cancer. Lead researcher Joellen Schildkraut said she was a skeptic until the recent studies were published. “As you look across all these studies, I would say, why use it? It’s an avoidable risk for ovarian cancer,” she acknowledged.
Unfortunately, few if any consumers of all ethnic backgrounds have been aware of those risks – and in the case of the African-American community, there is decades of cultural conditioning and expectations passed from one generation to the next. That is something that Johnson & Johnson was all-too-willing to exploit.
Johnson & Johnson is unrepentant, and plans to appeal the most recent ruling. In a statement to the press, J&J spokesperson Carol Goodrich said, “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.”
http://trofire.com/2016/06/07/baby-powder-manufacturers-targeting-african-american-women/
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The tragic truth about talcum powder finally comes out
Jun 7, 2016 | West Virginia Record
By Zak Zatezalo
Talcum powder is back in the news following a May 2 verdict against Johnson & Johnson, in which it was ordered to pay $55 million to a woman who contracted ovarian cancer after years of her using Johnson’s Baby Powder for feminine hygiene.
This verdict comes on the heels of a $72 million verdict this past February against Johnson & Johnson for the wrongful death of another woman who died of ovarian cancer.
In both instances, the vast majority of these awards constituted punitive damages against Johnson & Johnson for promoting talcum powder as a feminine hygiene product without ever warning about the cancer risks for talcum powder that companies like Johnson & Johnson have known about for decades.
As far back as 1971, British researchers found talc particles “deeply embedded’’ in ovarian tumors when examined microscopically. In 1982, a gynecologist and Harvard Medical School professor, Dr. Daniel Cramer, demonstrated a statistically significant link between ovarian cancer and talcum powder use for perineal dusting. In 2006, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified cosmetic, perineal talc application as possibly carcinogenic to humans.
To date, approximately 20 epidemiological studies, including 16 case-controlled studies have found increased rates of ovarian cancer for women who reported using talc as a feminine hygiene product. And most recently, a new study has found a 33 percent higher rate of ovarian cancer among women who used talc for feminine hygiene.
Unfortunately, Johnson & Johnson knew all about the risk of getting cancer from its Baby Powder and Shower To Shower products for decades. But armed with this knowledge, instead of doing the right thing and warning its customers, Johnson & Johnson actually increased its marketing efforts for these products, particularly to black and Hispanic women, who were among its most loyal consumers.
One of the jury foreman, Krista Smith, commented after the first verdict that Johnson & Johnson’s internal documents provided the most incriminating evidence saying, “It was really clear they were hiding something.”
I have written before about the potential harm from talcum powder from cross-contamination with asbestos fibers, which are often mined in close proximity from adjacent seams, as a result of companies sourcing talc from countries like China and Pakistan that have very few regulations to prevent cross-contamination. Interestingly, Johnson & Johnson’s biggest source of talc comes from the southern province of Guangxi, China.
According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 22,280 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the United States alone, and approximately 14,240 will die, this year. About one woman in 70 will develop ovarian cancer this year, but studies show that regular talc use puts your odds at approximately one in 50.
Prior to these recent verdicts, concerns about the risks of talc were practically unknown to the general public. But Johnson & Johnson knew. Nevertheless, it continued to promote its Baby and Shower to Shower powders as quintessentially wholesome products for people who wanted to “feel cool, smooth and dry.”
To date, health advocates prior calls for warnings against using talc products for genital hygiene have gone unheeded. As far back as 1999 researchers were astutely pointing out that: “balanced against what are primarily aesthetic reasons for using talc in genital hygiene, the risk benefit decision is not complex. Appropriate warnings should be provided to women about the potential risks of regular use of talc in the genital area.”
Unfortunately, Johnson & Johnson and other distributors chose to ignore and conceal the dangerous truth about their products. As a tragic result, tens of thousands of women are now likely to pay the price for these companies’ conscious disregard of these known safety hazards.
http://wvrecord.com/stories/510793014-the-tragic-truth-about-talcum-powder-finally-comes-out
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