Johnson & Johnson persuaded a California jury to reject a woman’s claims that asbestos in the company’s iconic baby powder caused her to develop cancer, its latest win in litigation over the talc-based product.
J&J has used arguments focusing on alternative causes of women’s cancers to win several recent talc trials, including one in October in its hometown of New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Jurors in state court in Eureka, California, found plaintiff Carla Allen was exposed to asbestos-tainted baby powder, but that wasn’t a “substantial factor” in causing her mesothelioma, an asbestos-linked cancer.
Plaintiffs contend J&J has known since the ...