Supreme Court Denies Johnson & Johnson's Challenge to Baby Powder Cancer Judgement

Johnson & Johnson JNJ will not be getting out of its obligation to pay up for losing a civil court case over its baby powder products that allegedly contained asbestos.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would not hear the company’s appeal of a $2.1 billion verdict from a 2018 trial in Missouri involving women who argued that the products contributed to their ovarian cancer.
The justices turned away a J&J appeal and left in place a Missouri state court ruling in litigation brought by 22 women whose claims were heard together in one trial.
In July 2018, a St Louis jury awarded $4.69 billion in damages to 22 women and their families after agreeing with the plaintiffs that J&J’s baby powder made with talc could have also contained asbestos, a well-known carcinogen.
The company failed to win previous appeals overturning the verdict, but by June 2020, they had succeeded in trimming the judgment down to $2.1 billion.
The company said in May 2020 it would stop selling its baby powder talc in the U.S. and Canada, citing changes in consumer habits and what it called “misinformation” about the product’s safety amid numerous legal challenges.
Price Action: JNJ shares are down 1.78% at $166.23 during the market session on the last check Tuesday.