Why Johnson & Johnson May Not Have to Pay Its $4.7 Billion Court Verdict
- Most big product-liability verdicts reversed or massively cut
- After the headlines, many judges convert billions to millions
Photographer: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
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A $4.7 billion jury verdict against Johnson & Johnson in July helped spark the company’s biggest annual share loss in a decade, spotlighting the potential cost of alleged health risks from its popular baby powder.
But investors may have overreacted when a St. Louis jury sided with 22 women who claimed asbestos in the powder caused their ovarian cancer. While the award was eye-popping -- the sixth-largest ever in a product-defect case -- J&J may pay far less, or nothing. No verdict of that size has survived appeal.