J&J Fights $4.7B Verdict Finding Talc Caused Ovarian Cancer

Johnson & Johnson will ask a Missouri court Wednesday to undo or at least cut a $4.69 billion verdict awarded to 22 women who blame their ovarian cancer on asbestos in its talc products.

The verdict, which the company calls “excessive and unconstitutional,” includes $4.14 billion in punitive damages and $550 million in compensatories against J&J and its Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. unit.

It came in the first suit to go to trial in Missouri alleging asbestos-exposure from the companies’ talcum powders. Earlier Missouri talc trials, two of which yielded $110 million and $70 million verdicts and which also ...