John Sammon News
J&J says talc lawyers are playing the 'race card' in latest try at giant verdict
Opening arguments began Monday in the lawsuit launched by a man claiming that asbestos-tainted baby powder made by Johnson & Johnson caused him to develop mesothelioma.
Attorney of university student allegedly abused by ex-boyfriend says university should be held liable under discrimination law
The attorney for a student athlete suing St. Louis University (SLU) for the abuse inflicted on her by a fellow student said schools must live up to anti-harassment laws.
Appellate court upholds overruling of Millennium Anesthesiology Consultants' motion for arbitration
ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District on Oct. 30 upheld a St. Louis County Circuit Court judgment overruling a medical company’s motion to compel arbitration from a doctor in a dispute over the alleged improper soliciting of an employee.
Appeals court affirms judgment against Kansas City regarding trash pickup rebates
KANSAS CITY – Missouri's Western District Court of Appeals Western District recently affirmed a Platte County Circuit Court decision awarding over $10 million to plaintiffs in a class-action suit against Kansas City after the city discontinued a rebate program for trash pickup in multi-unit buildings and trailer parks.
Court rules on plaintiff fees in Missouri church's school playground lawsuit
Following a Supreme Court ruling that a Missouri church had been denied its constitutional rights when the state rejected its application for a playground subsidy, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri ruled on attorneys' fees and costs, roughly halving the original estimate submitted by the church.
Missouri Appeals Court asks lower court to reconsider settlement for mother in son’s wrongful death
The Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District on Nov. 6 asked the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis to reconsider a judgement award to more equitably compensate the mother of a son killed in an auto accident.
Western District court dismisses lost chance of survival count in wrongful death suit against federal government
KANSAS CITY – The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri on Nov. 1 dismissed count one of a suit against the federal government over allegations that faulty installation of a catheter device at a Veterans’ Administration (VA) clinic caused a man’s death.
Missouri Farm Bureau calls verdict in Roundup case 'a mistake'
ST. LOUIS – A spokesman for the Missouri Farm Bureau said a recent multimillion court judgment in California against Monsanto that links its Roundup herbicide to cancer in humans is a mistake that will cost farmers in the end.
Johnson & Johnson will appeal verdict in billion dollar talc judgement
ST. LOUIS – Johnson & Johnson officials pledged to appeal a $4.69 billion court judgment against them the day after a trial in which 22 women plaintiffs won a landmark case accusing the company of causing their ovarian cancer from use of baby powder containing asbestos.
Jurors pound Johnson & Johnson with $4.69 billion judgment; Company vows to appeal
ST. LOUIS – Jurors on July 12 handed Johnson & Johnson a body-blow, levying a total $4.14 billion in punitive damages and $550 million in compensatory damages to 22 women who claimed its talcum powder contained asbestos that caused them to develop ovarian cancer.
J&J talc trial wraps up: Attorneys accuse each other of fake science in closing arguments
ST. LOUIS – Attorneys for both sides claimed the other fabricated science during closing remarks on July 11 after a month-long trial in a lawsuit in which 22 women allege the baby powder they used made by Johnson & Johnson gave them ovarian cancer.
Defense witness calls Lanier evidence circumstantial in final week of J&J talc trial
ST. LOUIS – In the final week of trial alleging Johnson & Johnson baby powder caused 22 women to develop ovarian cancer, the defense again fought back that the disease came from other causes, while the plaintiffs’ attorney said the defendants were dodging the truth.
Plaintiffs’ attorney says Johnson & Johnson took easy testing route in talc trial
During questioning of a witness for the defense, the attorney for 22 women suing Johnson & Johnson (J&J) for the baby powder they alleged contained asbestos and gave them ovarian cancer, portrayed a company that didn’t want to find out its talc contained asbestos and used a less stringent method of testing.
Patient disclosure sparks testy exchange in J&J talc trial
ST. LOUIS – A gynecological oncologist called by Johnson & Johnson disputed an allegation he was engaging in a conflict of interest in withholding information from some of the 22 women suing the company over its baby powder they claimed gave them ovarian cancer----by not telling them he was testifying against them in court.
Plaintiffs and defense spar over qualifications, family history issues
ST. LOUIS – The attorney for 22 women suing Johnson & Johnson for the baby powder they said caused their ovarian cancer and a medical doctor witness for the defense traded barbs in court on July 3.
Lanier goes after J&J epidemiologist who says plaintiff asbestos findings wrong
ST. LOUIS – The attorney for 22 women plaintiffs suing Johnson & Johnson for the baby powder they claimed gave them ovarian cancer on July 2 challenged the qualifications of a defense witness epidemiologist and accused her of leaving pertinent information out of her findings.
Plaintiff lawyer says J&J accused of altering records as scientist maintains product is asbestos free
ST. LOUIS – Mark Lanier, the attorney for 22 women suing baby powder maker Johnson & Johnson for the talc powder they claimed gave them ovarian cancer, said a J&J scientist had been accused of altering records to quash knowledge the product contained asbestos.
Asbestos attorney says defense expert playing 'name games'; J&J witness says it's wrong to call things asbestos that are not
ST. LOUIS – Mark Lanier, the attorney for 22 women suing baby powder maker Johnson & Johnson alleging the talc product gave them ovarian cancer, told a star witness for the defense he was engaging in a “name game,” attempting to call asbestos something else.
Findings of scientist disputed in Johnson & Johnson talc trial
On the day that plaintiffs rested their case, an attorney for Johnson & Johnson (J&J) brought in his own expert witness seeking to undermine the testimony of 22 women in a lawsuit claiming they developed ovarian cancer from the use of asbestos-laced baby powder.
Oncologist points to asbestos as source of plaintiffs' cancer in St. Louis talc trial
A noted oncologist told a jury in the 22nd Judicial Circuit of Missouri on June 26 that the female plaintiffs who are suing Baby Powder maker Johnson & Johnson for ovarian cancer they allegedly contracted from using the product got the disease from exposure to asbestos.