Overview
- The verdict awards $16 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages to the family of Mae K. Moore.
- Jurors found the company liable after allegations it concealed asbestos risks in talc powders, and Moore died in 2021 at age 88 after decades of product use.
- Johnson & Johnson said it will appeal immediately and maintains its talc products are safe, asbestos-free, and do not cause cancer.
- Punitive damages could be reduced on appeal under U.S. Supreme Court guidance that generally limits them to single-digit multiples of compensatory awards.
- The ruling lands as J&J faces roughly 67,000–70,000 talc claims nationwide and after the company stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the U.S. in 2020 and globally by 2023.