Los Angeles, 7 October 2025 — A Los Angeles jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to pay $966 million to the family of a California woman who died from mesothelioma, ruling that the company’s talc-based baby powder contributed to her illness.
The Case
The verdict was delivered in the case of Mae Moore, an 88-year-old California resident who died in 2021. Her family alleged that decades of using J&J’s talc products exposed her to asbestos fibers, ultimately causing the rare and fatal cancer.
Jurors awarded $16 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages, one of the largest awards to date in the wave of talc-related litigation against the company.
Company Response
J&J has consistently denied that its talc products contain asbestos or cause cancer. Following the ruling, the company vowed to appeal, calling the verdict “egregious and unconstitutional” and arguing that the plaintiffs relied on “junk science.”
The company stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the United States in 2020, switching to a cornstarch-based formula, but continues to face more than 67,000 lawsuits alleging its talc products caused cancer.
Wider Context
Most of the claims involve ovarian cancer, though a smaller number, like Moore’s, concern mesothelioma. While J&J has won some recent cases, it has also been hit with several substantial verdicts. Legal experts note that the punitive damages in this case may be reduced on appeal, as U.S. Supreme Court precedent generally limits such awards to no more than nine times compensatory damages.
Outlook
The ruling underscores the legal and financial risks J&J continues to face over its talc products, even after withdrawing them from the market. For Moore’s family, attorneys described the verdict as long-awaited justice, while for J&J, it represents another high-stakes battle in a litigation saga that shows no sign of abating.
Johnson-Johnson-office-Madrid-Picture-on-Wikimedia-by-Luis-Garcia
