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Cosmetic Talc Litigation Media Coverage July 19, 2016
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J&J Talcum Powder Suits Should All Go To Ill., JPML Told
Jul 18, 2016 | Law 360
By John Kennedy
A woman who says Johnson & Johnson's talcum powder products gave her ovarian cancer asked the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on Friday to transfer her case and 10 related other ones to the Southern District of Illinois for pretrial coordination. -
Missouri Court Hears Arguments Relating to Stay Motion Filed in 15 Talc-Based Powder Suits
Jul 18, 2016 | Harris Martin Publishing
A Missouri circuit court with more than 20 talc-based powder lawsuits pending before it has heard arguments related to Johnson & Johnson’s motions to stay proceedings in the several of the cases, according to the court’s online docket. -
Study Links Talcum Powder and Douches to Ovarian Cancer
Jul 18, 2016 | News Inferno
By F.A. Kelley
A study to be presented at the 27th International Nursing Research Congress on July 23 2016 in Cape Town, South Africa suggests that use of talcum powder in the genital area and douching could increase risk of ovarian cancer.
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J&J Talcum Powder Suits Should All Go To Ill., JPML Told
Jul 18, 2016 | Law 360
By John Kennedy
A woman who says Johnson & Johnson's talcum powder products gave her ovarian cancer asked the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on Friday to transfer her case and 10 related other ones to the Southern District of Illinois for pretrial coordination.
Tanashiska Lumas, who sued J&J on July 1 in the Southern District of Illinois, said the district's close proximity to St. Louis, Missouri, will benefit document recovery and its central-U.S. location makes it a convenient travel location for lawyers on the East and West coasts. There are three lawsuits pending in Missouri state court in St. Louis that deal with claims similar to those made by Lumas and the other related cases.
All 11 cases allege that J&J and others misrepresented the safety and reliability of the company's talcum powder products and claim violations of state consumer protection laws, negligence, failure to warn, wrongful death and other causes of action.
The 10 cases related to Lumas' include two class actions — Mihalich v. J&J and Estrada v. J&J — and eight individual actions. She wants the cases assigned to U.S. District Judge David R. Herndon, who is already presiding over Mihalich's case.
In her case, Lumas accuses J&J's baby powder and Shower to Shower talcum powder products of causing her ovarian cancer. She was born in 1976, has used the products for most of her life and was diagnosed with cancer around 2011.
Among the other cases, Mona Estrada's proposed class action was dismissed in March 2015 after a judge found that she had only identified general statements on J&J's website to support her claims that the company falsely described its baby powder as safe. Estrada has amended her complaint and her case is proceeding through the Eastern District of California.
Earlier this year, J&J suffered serious defeats totaling $127 million in the first two St. Louis trials over the alleged link between its talcum products and ovarian cancer. It's appealing both verdicts — a $55 million award in early May and a $72 million award from February — but still faces thousands of similar suits.
Two more trials are slated for September in New Jersey and St. Louis and as of April more than 1,200 similar lawsuits had been filed.
In December, the New Jersey Supreme Court approved multicounty litigation status for more than 100 suits against J&J over the alleged talcum powder-ovarian cancer link.
None of the parties involved could be reached for comment on Monday.
Lumas is represented by David McMullan Jr., Katherine Barrett Riley, Sterling Starns, Cary Littlejohn and Brandi Hamilton of Don Barrett PA.
Counsel for J&J was unavailable on Monday.
The case is In re: Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Products Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, case number 2738, before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.http://www.law360.com/articles/818551
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Missouri Court Hears Arguments Relating to Stay Motion Filed in 15 Talc-Based Powder Suits
Jul 18, 2016 | Harris Martin Publishing
ST. LOUIS –– A Missouri circuit court with more than 20 talc-based powder lawsuits pending before it has heard arguments related to Johnson & Johnson’s motions to stay proceedings in the several of the cases, according to the court’s online docket.
The Missouri 22nd Judicial Circuit Court for St. Louis City heard and took the defense motion to stay under submission on July 7 in the Farrar case (No. 1422-CC09964-02).
Similar docket entries were made in Hogans (No. 1422-CC09012-01); Swann (No. 1422-CC09326-01); Dunn (No. 1422-CC10042-01); Dysart (No. 1522-CC00167-01); Forrest (No. 1522-CC00419);McCullen (No. 1522-CC00811); Young (No. 1522-CC09728-01); Anglin (No. 1522-CC09792); ...
Subscription required, for full story: http://harrismartin.com/article/21101/missouri-court-hears-arguments-relating-to-stay-motion-filed-in-15-talc-based-powder-suits/
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Study Links Talcum Powder and Douches to Ovarian Cancer
Jul 18, 2016 | News Inferno
By F.A. Kelley
A study to be presented at the 27th International Nursing Research Congress on July 23 2016 in Cape Town, South Africa suggests that use of talcum powder in the genital area and douching could increase risk of ovarian cancer.
For the study led by Sandra Cesario, Ph. D., at Nelda C. Stark College of Nursing, Texas Woman’s University, in Houston, 1274 women 18 to 76 years of age completed an online survey. Five hundred fifty-three women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer, 91 with another cancer, and 630 women without any cancer, according to Foodconsumer.org.
Women who used douches were more likely than those who did not to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Among users, 33 percent developed ovarian cancer, compared to 22.4 percent of non-users. Douching was associated with a 34 percent increased risk of developing ovarian cancer.
Douching is washing or cleaning out the vagina with water or other mixtures of fluids. In the United States, about one in four women 15 to 44 years old douche, according to the Office of Women’s Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Doctors recommend against douching because it can lead to health problems, including problems getting pregnant. Douching has been linked to vaginal infections and sexually transmitted infections.
The study also found that women who use found and increase in ovarian cancer among women who use talcum powder in the genital area: 54.4 percent developed ovarian cancer compared to 39.9 percent among non-users. Genital talcum use was also associated with 76 percent increased risk for ovarian cancer. When both talcum powder and douches were used, the risk for developing ovarian cancer was even greater.
Hundreds of women have filed lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson over the link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer and lawsuits continue to move toward trial in a consolidated litigation underway in federal court in Missouri. Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower body powder are popular talcum products. Earlier this year, juries in two talcum powder cases tried in St. Louis returned multimillion-dollar damage awards to the plaintiffs. One award was made to the family of a woman who died of ovarian cancer in 2015 and the other award was to a cancer survivor. A large portion of both awards consists of punitive damages, which are intended to punish Johnson & Johnson. J&J said it plans to appeal both verdicts.
Though study results of a possible link between talc use and ovarian cancer have been mixed, this new study strengthens the evidence of a link. According to the American Cancer Society, when talcum powder is applied to the genital area, minute talc particles can migrate through the vagina and fallopian tubes into the ovaries and cause inflammation. Inflammation is thought to contribute to tumor formation. Many of the women who have filed talcum powder lawsuits reported decades of regular talcum powder use.
http://www.newsinferno.com/study-links-talcum-powder-and-douches-to-ovarian-cancer/
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