Talc-based beauty products have been found to be contaminated with asbestos according to some recent news headlines. How can this be? For years, cosmetics and personal care products have included a mineral ingredient called talc in their manufacturing process. Talc's original intention was to improve the texture and feel of products, absorb … [Read more...]
Chemical Firm BASF and Its Law Firm to Pay $72.5M to Close Talcum-Asbestos Claims
BASF SE, the world’s biggest chemical maker, and a law firm agreed to pay a combined $72.5 million to resolve claims they hid evidence that certain talc products contained asbestos in an effort to scuttle thousands of lawsuits. Executives of BASF, along with lawyers from the New York-based Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, agreed to the joint … [Read more...]
Imerys signs agreement to end talc litigation in the United States
Imerys announced on May 15 that it had reached agreement on a plan to end the [ talcum powder – asbestos litigation ] that resulted in the Chapter 11 (receivership) placement of its North American subsidiaries Imerys Talc America, Imerys Talc Vermont and Imerys Talc Canada. The group had announced at the end of 2018 that these three subsidiaries, … [Read more...]
Recall: FDA Sees Trace Asbestos in J&J Baby Powder
A shipment of baby powder has been recalled by Johnson & Johnson after U.S. authorities found asbestos in it. The recall comes after months of denial from the company about the presence of the cancer-causing substance in its talc-based products, The New York Times reported [October 19, 2019]. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration … [Read more...]
J&J Asks Federal Court to Assume Baby Powder Lawsuits from State Courts
Johnson & Johnson wants a federal judge to take over more than 2,000 baby-powder lawsuits it faces instead of allowing the cases to be heard by state-court juries, where the company has a mixed record. The world’s largest maker of health-care products seeks to invoke legal protections available to J&J’s bankrupt talc supplier Imerys Talc … [Read more...]
Johnson & Johnson Settles Oklahoma Talc-Cancer Case
Johnson & Johnson reached a confidential settlement resolving an Oklahoma lawsuit alleging its iconic baby powder caused a 77-year-old woman to develop a rare cancer connected to asbestos exposure. The accord comes the same day the company was cleared by a New Jersey jury of a similar claim and two weeks after a jury in Oakland, California, … [Read more...]
Johnson & Johnson must pay dying woman $29 million over talc-linked cancer
Johnson & Johnson must pay about $29 million to a dying California woman who blamed asbestos-tainted talc for causing her cancer, the company’s latest loss in nationwide litigation over its iconic baby powder. Jurors in state court in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday held J&J responsible for Teresa Leavitt’s mesothelioma, a cancer linked to … [Read more...]
Johnson & Johnson supplier seeks bankruptcy over talc lawsuits
A key supplier of talc used in Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder [ Imerys Talc America ] filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on [ February 13, 2019 ] in the wake of multibillion-dollar lawsuits alleging its products caused ovarian cancer and asbestos-related mesothelioma. Imerys Talc America, the U.S. unit of French group Imerys SA, said it filed … [Read more...]
Talc-asbestos lawsuits to stay in Pa. courts because of corporate registration law
According to the ruling of a federal judge, Pennsylvania courts now have jurisdiction over [ talc-asbestos lawsuits ] because the defendant followed state law in registering to do business in the state. On Wednesday, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge Michael M. Baylson declared that Imerys Talc America, defendant … [Read more...]
Four J&J Talc Cases Moving to Trial in New York’s Oft-Maligned Asbestos Court
Four talcum powder suits against Johnson & Johnson are set to proceed this month to trial in the New York City Asbestos Litigation court, where plaintiffs attorneys may be able to wield a formidable weapon in the threat of punitive damages, a remedy that had been unavailable for more than two decades, but to which the door was opened last … [Read more...]