J&J Seeking Dismissal of Talc Lawsuits in Missouri
June 21 2017 - 01:00PM
Dow Jones News
By Jonathan D. Rockoff
Johnson & Johnson is asking judges in St. Louis to throw out
personal-injury lawsuits over its talcum powder, a sign of the
immediate impact of this week's Supreme Court's ruling limiting
where suits could be filed.
Already one Missouri state-court judge has declared a mistrial
in one of the talcum-powder lawsuits against J&J because of the
Supreme Court decision. The company has also asked, or will ask,
judges in St. Louis to throw out a handful of verdicts under appeal
and to place on hold other cases that the company says should be
thrown out.
On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that California courts
could hear only claims that Californians filed against
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. alleging its Plavix blood-thinner raised
the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Many of the plaintiffs in
that suit weren't California residents.
Companies beyond the drug industry had been looking to the
Supreme Court to stop trial lawyers from filing personal-injury
lawsuits in courts that might be more sympathetic to the claims,
even though the plaintiffs weren't from the state where the court
sits. In the J&J cases, many out-of-state plaintiffs have
joined lawsuits filed in Missouri, the company says, including two
of the three plaintiffs in the case that just ended in
mistrial.
"In its decision, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling makes it clear
that Johnson & Johnson was wrongfully forced to defend itself
in multiple trials in Missouri, a state with no connection to the
plaintiffs," the company said in a statement.
Ted Meadows, one of the lead trial lawyers for talc plaintiffs
in Missouri and other courts, expressed confidence the cases could
go forward despite the Supreme Court's ruling.
"Based on evidence and statements now in the record, we believe
this litigation can go forward in Missouri courts. We plan to
conduct additional discovery and depositions to confirm this
position, and look forward to that opportunity," Mr. Meadows said
in a statement.
J&J will likely ask judges in other states and federal
courts to throw out cases involving out-of-state plaintiffs.
Nearly 1,000 lawsuits are pending against J&J in federal and
state courts alleging that Johnson's Baby Powder caused ovarian
cancer and the company failed to warn about the risks, according to
the company's latest court filing.
J&J, based in New Brunswick, N.J., says that talcum powder
is safe and the labeling on Johnson's Baby Powder was appropriate,
while also asking Missouri judges to throw out cases involving
out-of-state plaintiffs.
The company has won one trial in St. Louis but lost three
others, which led to verdicts totaling more than $194 million that
J&J has appealed.
Write to Jonathan D. Rockoff at Jonathan.Rockoff@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 21, 2017 13:45 ET (17:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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