Missouri’s highest court on Tuesday refused to consider Johnson & Johnson’s appeal from a $2.12 billion damages award to women who blamed their ovarian cancer on asbestos in its baby powder and other talc products.
The Missouri Supreme Court let stand a June 23 decision by a state appeals court, which upheld a jury’s July 2018 finding of liability but reduced J&J’s payout from $4.69 billion after dismissing claims by some of the plaintiffs.
Johnson & Johnson said it plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
It said the verdict was the product of a “fundamentally flawed trial,” and “at odds with decades of independent scientific evaluations confirming Johnson’s Baby Powder is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer.”
