$40 Million California Bellwether Verdict Against J&J Over Talc-Linked Ovarian Cancer

Monica Kent and Deborah Schultz each used Johnson's Baby Powder for roughly 50 years. Both later received diagnoses of ovarian cancer and underwent surgery and chemotherapy. They were among thousands of plaintiffs whose cases had been consolidated into California's talc coordination proceeding, JCCP 4872, after J&J's three attempts to resolve the litigation through bankruptcy had failed in federal court.

The trial before Judge Theresa Traber in Los Angeles Superior Court ran from November 13 to December 12, 2025. Beasley Allen attorneys Andy Birchfield, Leigh O'Dell, and Margaret Thompson led the plaintiff team, joined by co-counsel from Robinson Calcagnie. The defense, handled by Kirkland and Ellis, argued that no major health regulator has confirmed a causal link between talc and ovarian cancer and that the plaintiffs lacked credible scientific evidence.

Beasley Allen's presentation centered on J&J's own internal records. A 1964 company document showed J&J had weighed switching from talc to cornstarch in part because cornstarch could be absorbed in genital tissue while talc could not. Documents from the 1970s showed the company had detected tremolite, a form of asbestos, in its talc supply. During closing argument, Birchfield told jurors that J&J 'knew and were doing everything they could to hide it, to bury the truth about the dangers.' Former FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler testified for the plaintiffs that the concealment of asbestos evidence spanned more than five decades.

The jury found J&J liable on all three claims it considered: negligence, failure to warn, and concealment. It awarded $18 million to Kent and $22 million to Schultz and her husband, Dr. Albert Schultz, for a combined $40 million in compensatory damages. The jury declined to award punitive damages. J&J announced immediately after the verdict that it would appeal, noting that it had prevailed in approximately 16 of the 17 ovarian cancer cases it had previously tried.

The outcome was the first ovarian cancer bellwether to reach a jury in California's consolidated talc proceeding, which had largely been on hold while J&J's bankruptcy filings stalled the litigation.