J&J gets $260 million Oregon verdict overturned, new trial ordered By Reuters

By Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) – An Oregon judge has overturned a $260 million judgment against Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:) in a lawsuit brought by a woman who claimed she developed mesothelioma, a deadly cancer linked to asbestos exposure, from inhaling the company’s talcum powder, the company said on Monday.

Judge Katharine von ter Stegge of the 4th Judicial District Circuit Court in Portland, Ore., granted J&J’s motion to vacate the verdict and hold a new trial in the case during a hearing late Friday, a company spokesman said. Von ter Stegge is expected to issue an opinion explaining her order in the coming days.

Erik Haas, global vice president of J&J’s litigation department, said the original verdict was “the direct result of numerous serious errors made by the plaintiff’s attorneys” and “had no basis in law or science.”

The attorney for the Oregon woman, Kyung Lee, who sued the company along with her husband, declined to comment.

J&J is facing more than 62,000 claims from plaintiffs that its baby powder and other talc products are contaminated with asbestos and cause cancer. Most of the lawsuits involve ovarian and other gynecological cancers, with a small minority involving mesothelioma. J&J has said its talc is safe, does not contain asbestos and does not cause cancer.

Lee was diagnosed with mesothelioma last year at the age of 48. She claimed she had been inhaling talcum powder containing asbestos for more than 30 years, starting when her mother used it on her when she was a baby and later when she used it as deodorant.

A lawyer for J&J said during the trial that Lee’s illness was likely caused by exposure to asbestos used in a factory near where she grew up.

Friday’s decision comes as J&J prepares to have a subsidiary file for bankruptcy to settle lawsuits over ovarian and other gynecological cancers for about $9 billion. The company has said it has received support for the deal from more than 75% of plaintiffs, the legal threshold for a judge to approve the type of bankruptcy settlement J&J has proposed.

The bankruptcy filing and settlement would not affect mesothelioma cases like Lee’s.