JACKSON, Miss. (Legal Newsline) – Defense attorney Walter “W.G.” Watkins Jr. thinks the impact of a $21.7 million mesothelioma-related verdict recently reached against Johnson & Johnson and its talc suppliers by a Los Angeles jury could have implications that extend far beyond that region.
“Mesothelioma cases associated with asbestos are very difficult to win, but this case probably changes the complexion of things a bit,” Watkins, founding partner of Forman Watkins & Krutz LLP in Mississippi, told Legal Newsline. “Talc defendants typically have not been directly involved in mesothelioma cases, especially any that have proven to be as public as this one has. I think now you will see more cases involving talc and asbestos.
"I’ve been practicing law for 40 years and there have been few watershed moments. Only time will tell if this pans out to be one of those times.”
Joanne Anderson, 68, and her husband filed suit against Johnson & Johnson and several of its partners in 2017, alleging she developed cancer after being exposed to asbestos in the manufacturer’s baby powder. In the time leading up to her legal action, doctors diagnosed Anderson with mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer closely associated with exposure to asbestos that forms in the thin protective tissue covering the lungs and abdomen.
Of the nearly $22 million award verdict reached May 23, the court slapped Johnson & Johnson with nearly two-thirds of the liability, with the rest of the award distributed among its various partners and associates. The award could still grow as the court now weighs the option of adding punitive damages.
The massive award amount marked the second time in recent months that Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to make such a lucrative payout to a plaintiff making similar allegations.
Earlier this year, a jury in New Jersey state court ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay a Verona, N.J. couple a total of $117 million - $37 million in compensatory damages and $80 million in punitive damages - following a trial over alleged traces of asbestos in the company’s baby powder.
Banker Stephen Lanzo became the first person to successfully sue Johnson & Johnson in a case in which a victim alleged contracting mesothelioma from using the company’s baby powder products. Lanzo and his wife, Kendra, filed suit in 2016, alleging that the Johnson & Johnson baby powder products the non-smoker used from the time he was a child led to him contracting the rare form of cancer he was diagnosed with in 2014.
Attorneys for the two sides were recently back in court where the defense sought to have the verdict tossed, with attorneys for J&J arguing that decades of testing by independent laboratories and scientists prove that its talc products are free of asbestos or any form of cancer causing contaminants.
A similar case in South Carolina, where the husband of a 30-year attorney is claiming her cancer-related death was caused by inhaling asbestos in J&J’s baby powder, is currently ongoing.
That suit on behalf of Bertila Boyd-Bostic also names J&J talc supplier Imerys Talc America and Rite Aid drug stores as defendants.
“The process for handling mesothelioma cases is a little different from ovarian cancer cases,” Watkins said. “One of the new layers defense attorneys are working to get more up to speed on is proving talc contaminated with asbestos puts defendants in the same boat in terms of causation. Going forward, it means defense teams may be required to work closer together in trying to defend themselves against any litigation.”
Watkins added the learning curve probably won't be restricted to just defense attorneys.
“This is a time for plaintiff attorneys to also be learning,” he said. “I think for years lawyers working on mesothelioma cases have had a lot to prove at the outset of their cases in terms of showing that there was direct exposure. The threshold has been high and attorneys have been looking for another avenue of exposure they could legally prove.”
In the end, Watkins said no matter what comes to be, he expects both sides to work diligently at making the adaptions they need to.
“Any good lawyer is always anticipating what’s coming next and asbestos defendants will now be looking at how to deal with talc-only cases,” he said. “To me, that just seems to be a natural progression.”
Overall, J&J has been hit with more than 6,600 suits from women alleging that they contracted ovarian cancer from using its powder products over the years, leading to payout verdicts ranging from $55 million to $417 million over the last two years alone.
The recent mesothelioma related suits add yet another wrinkle to the spiraling litigation.