What they’re reporting about the court’s decision:
Kevin Parker, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a statement: “Johnson & Johnson should accept the findings of the jury and the appellate court and move forward with proper compensation to the victims.”
“The trial jury sent a loud message alerting the world to the dangers of talc,” Mark Lanier, who represented the women in the St. Louis case, said in an emailed statement. “Now that message has been confirmed through each level of the state’s appellate system.”
In its June decision, the Missouri Court of Appeals said it was reasonable to infer from the evidence that Johnson & Johnson “disregarded the safety of consumers” in its drive for profit, despite knowing its talc products caused ovarian cancer. It also found “significant reprehensibility” in the company’s conduct.
A lawyer for the plaintiffs, Mark Lanier, said Tuesday, “While we applaud J&J’s decision to cease distributing its talc-based powders in North America, much more needs to be done to provide justice for victims both now, and in the future.”
Originally, jurors ordered the company to pay $4.69 billion, but this summer the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District lowered the verdict to $2.11 billion, saying J&J engaged in “reprehensible conduct” in defense of its talc powder. The court found that plaintiffs “proved with convincing clarity that defendants engaged in outrageous conduct because of an evil motive or reckless indifference.”
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