Former Missouri Governor John Ashcroft has joined the legal team representing plaintiffs in an action claiming talc-based baby powder products caused their ovarian cancer.
Ashcroft, a one time U.S. Attorney General, will help prepare for a Missouri Supreme Court review of a decision by an appeals court to uphold a verdict against Johnson & Johnson, though the judges cut the original $4.7 billion award to just over $2 billion.
J&J, whose Baby Powder and Shower to Shower products are at the center of the action, appealed the unanimous decision by the Missouri Appeals Court, Eastern District, to uphold the verdict.
In reducing the damages award, the three judge appeals panel also quashed awards to two of the plaintiffs for lack of a connection to the state of Missouri.
Law360 reported that Ashcroft has joined the team representing the women, which is led by Texas attorney Mark Lanier.
J&J said it would not comment on the former Sen. Ashcroft joining the opposing legal team.
However, the company's outside counsel, John Beisner of Skadden, outlined to the St. Louis Record the approach that will be taken ahead of Supreme Court hearing.
“We are asking the Missouri Supreme Court to review a fundamentally unfair and dangerous product liability precedent," Beisner said.
"The trial court improperly joined 22 plaintiffs presenting very disparate fact allegations in a single trial, creating serious jury prejudice and confusion.
"The jury was obliged to sift through six weeks of trial evidence and render verdicts under the varying laws of 12 states.
"However, after deliberating less than 20 minutes per plaintiff, the jury awarded each claimant damages in precisely the same amount, indicating a failure to differentiate among the numerous highly individualized claims.
"We also believe the lower courts erred in discounting the evidence of decades of independent scientific studies that do not support finding a causal link between talc use and ovarian cancer.”
Following the appeals court ruling, attorney Lanier told Bloomberg Wire Service that "the court’s decision to uphold the actual damages and part of the punitive award will influence other talc cases in Missouri."
“The opinion carefully explains the reprehensible conduct of J&J, and upholds critical damages to make the world a safer place,” Lanier wrote in an email to the news agency.
While the awards from two of the out-of-state plaintiffs were thrown out, a further 15 non-Missouri claims were upheld because they used a product called Shimmer, which is produced by a company in Union, Missouri, for J&J.
The appeals court found that experts testifying on behalf of plaintiffs’ based their opinions on “reasonable methodology” which enabled a jury to form a legitimate basis to conclude J&J was liable for the cancers in the women.
The court kept the $500 million in actual damages but reduced punitive damages to approximately $1.6 billion from about $4 billion.