J&J's First California Talc-Powder Trial Is Headed to the Jury
- L.A. jurors to decide whether J&J failed to warn about risks
- Trial is first of about 300 cases in state over ovarian cancer
Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder
Photographer: Scott Eells/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Johnson & Johnson is about to find out whether it’s on friendlier turf in California than in Missouri fighting allegations that its talc powder causes ovarian cancer in women.
After losing four out of five cases that went to trial in St. Louis, the company is wrapping up a trial before a jury in Los Angeles, the first such case to go to a state-court jury outside Missouri and one of more than 300 similar cases pending in California. The U.S. Supreme Court in June issued a ruling that made it harder for consumer lawyers to try cases in St. Louis and other cities that have been a destination of choice for litigation against companies that do business nationwide.