J&J loses bid to overturn baby powder verdict, but damages cut to $2.12 bn

A Missouri appeals court on Tuesday rejected Johnson & Johnson's bid to throw out a jury verdict in favor of women who blamed their ovarian cancer on its baby powder and other talc products, but reduced damages by more than half, to $2.12 billion.

The Missouri Court of Appeals lowered the original $4.69 billion verdict from July 2018 after dismissing claims by some of the 22 women and their families who had sued.

But it said the plaintiffs had proven that J&J and an affiliate concealed for decades that the talc products contained asbestos, "worked tirelessly" to ensure that testing protocols would