Overview

• KP Law filed a group claim at the English High Court for more than 3,000 people over alleged harm from Johnson’s Baby Powder used between 1965 and 2023, valuing the case at over £1 billion.
• The claim cites internal company memos and testing from the 1960s to allege asbestos contamination and links to ovarian cancer, mesothelioma and other illnesses.
• Kenvue, which retained responsibility for talc litigation outside the U.S. and Canada after the 2023 spin-off, says the powder met regulatory standards, contained no asbestos and does not cause cancer.
• English civil cases are decided by a judge rather than a jury, and damages are typically narrower than U.S.-style punitive awards.
• The filing follows ongoing U.S. litigation, including a $966 million Los Angeles verdict last week that J&J is appealing; the company ended talc-based powder sales in the U.S. in 2020 and in the UK in 2023.