Johnson & Johnson Sets Aside $3.9 Bln For Baby Powder Verdict, Settlements

(RTTNews) - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) disclosed in a regulatory filing that it set aside a $3.9 billion to cover verdict against the company over its Baby Powder and other settlements.

The company reserved some of the money for a 2018 Missouri verdict for about 20 women who alleged that decades of daily use of Johnson & Johnson's asbestos-laden talcum powder products caused their ovarian cancer.

A Missouri appeals court in June 2020 reduced a damages award against Johnson & Johnson to about $2.12 billion from $4.69 billion.

The Missouri Supreme Court in November 2020 refused to consider J&J's arguments that the reduced verdict was flawed and excessive. The company is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to throw the award out entirely.

In May 2020, Johnson & Johnson said it would stop selling its talc-based Johnson's Baby Powder in the United States and Canada, as demand fell amid mounting consumers lawsuits that claimed the talc products caused cancer.