A New Jersey judge recently upheld a substantial $117 million verdict in favor of two-plaintiffs in an asbestos talcum powder lawsuit against cosmetics and pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson and its talc supplier Imerys Talc. The award, originally handed down in April 2018, included $30 million in compensatory damages, $7 million for loss of consortium, and $80 million for a husband and wife. The Middlesex County Superior Court judge in New Brunswick, New Jersey refused to grant Johnson & Johnson’s petition to set aside the verdict, potentially setting up another appeal to a higher state court.

A New York Supreme Court judge recently handed down a significant ruling in an asbestos cancer lawsuit in favor of a man who claims his former employer caused his terminal cancer by using materials contaminated with deadly carcinogens. The case involved a now deceased victim who claimed that during his time as a roofer, he frequently used products manufactured with asbestos by CertainTeed Corporation and that this was the source of his exposure to the carcinogen which caused his ultimately fatal condition.

A Missouri trial judge recently upheld a substantial $4.69 billion verdict in favor of 22 plaintiffs and their families in an asbestos talcum powder lawsuit against New Jersey-based pharmaceutical and cosmetics giant Johnson & Johnson. Soon after the judge upheld the verdict, Johnson & Johnson continued to deny responsibility in the case and vowed to appeal the decision and have the award overturned. In his orders, the Circuit Court judge for the City of St. Louis noted there was no reason to further delay certification of the award for appeal and so affirmed the jury’s decision.