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 It is the second major talc case the Missouri high court has stayed
in recent weeks on jurisdictional grounds. Both were in the St.
Louis' 22nd Circuit Court, which has issued several large verdicts
against J&J and Imerys, including one for $4.7 billion in July.
The vast majority of the plaintiffs in the St. Louis cases are from
other states, and the defendants have repeatedly challenged their
right to sue in Missouri as opposed to their home states or in
states where the companies are headquartered or have a substantial
presence. J&J is based in New Jersey and Imerys, a unit of Imerys
SA, is based in California.
In the case stayed on Thursday, which had been scheduled to go to
trial on April 8, only two of the 24 plaintiffs were from Missouri.
The plaintiffs claim asbestos in Johnson's Baby Powder and other
cosmetic talc products caused their cancer, alleging that J&J and
Imerys knew of asbestos contamination since at least the 1970s, but
failed to warn consumers.
Reuters on Dec. 14 published a Special Report detailing that the
company knew that the talc in its raw and finished powders sometimes
tested positive for cancer-causing asbestos from the 1970s into the
early 2000s - test results the company did not disclose to
regulators or consumers.
J&J and Imerys, a unit of Imerys SA, deny those allegations and have
repeatedly said decades of studies have shown their talc products to
be safe and free of asbestos.
"Imerys Talc America is pleased the Missouri court has ordered the
trial court to take no further action while it reviews the merits of
whether the Missouri court has personal jurisdiction over the
company in this product liability matter," the company said in a
statement on Thursday.
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Mark Lanier, the plaintiff's lawyer in the case stayed on Thursday,
did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He also
represented the plaintiffs in the $4.7 billion case, most of whom
were also from outside Missouri.
J&J, which is a co-defendant with Imerys, said it had also asked to
postpone the upcoming trial and its petition remained pending. The
company declined comment on Thursday.
The Missouri Supreme Court previously stayed a talc case against J&J
and Imerys that was due to begin on Jan. 21 on the same
jurisdictional grounds.
A number of multi-million-dollar talc verdicts against J&J and
Imerys in the St. Louis court have been thrown out following a 2017
U.S. Supreme Court decision limiting state courts' jurisdiction over
claims by non-residents against out-of-state companies.
However, the St. Louis trial court has allowed many out-of-state
plaintiffs, including most of those who won the $4.7 billion
verdict, to proceed based on state ties the defendants say are
tenuous. That verdict is now under appeal at an intermediate court.
(Reporting by Tina Bellon in New York; Editing by Anthony Lin and
Bill Rigby)
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