Johnson & Johnson proposes $5.5 billion talc settlement to end marathon
legal fight
[July 29, 2026]
By MICHELLE CHAPMAN
Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $5.5 billion to tie up remaining
lawsuits that claim its talc products caused ovarian cancer.
The drugmaker, which has been fighting talc-related lawsuits for more
than a decade, said that the settlement is conditioned on at least 95%
of remaining claimants participating.
A U.S. bankruptcy court judge denied a $9 billion settlement proposed by
company subsidiary Red River Talc last year that would have been one of
the biggest mass tort settlements in history.
Johnson & Johnson decided not to appeal that ruling and instead fight on
in court.
A federal judge last week ordered plaintiffs in the case against Johnson
& Johnson to show why the remaining pending talc claims should not be
dismissed after their witnesses could not provide a direct link between
the company's product and cancer.
“The Court’s order placed plaintiffs in an untenable position of having
to present specific causation evidence to maintain their claims that
does not exist," Erik Haas, worldwide vice president of litigation,
Johnson & Johnson, said in a prepared statement Monday.
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The Johnson & Johnson headquarters is in New Brunswick, New Jersey,
on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
 As part of the settlement proposed
this week, Johnson & Johnson will make an initial payment of no more
than $3 billion next year. It has no additional payments due until
2028.
“While we are confident the company would have ultimately prevailed
with further litigation, as it has in the vast majority of cases
tried to date, this resolution allows the company to put this matter
behind it and remain focused on its mission to develop medicines and
devices that save lives,” Haas said.
Johnson & Johnson said that it previously settled about 95% of filed
lawsuits for mesothelioma, a cancer in the tissue surrounding organs
like the lungs and heart, all state consumer protection claims, and
all talc-supplier disputes.
Shares of the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company rose more than
2% before the market open on Tuesday.
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