Products Liability Law Reporter

Paul Lovell, a Massachusetts resident, used Johnson’s Baby Powder for decades and also used the product on his four children. Now 69, he has been diagnosed as having mesothelioma and has undergone multiple surgeries and chemotherapy. His medical expenses totaled $608,300.

Lovell and his wife sued Johnson & Johnson, alleging negligence and breach of warranty. The plaintiffs presented internal documents showing the defendant’s awareness of asbestos contamination in its talc products, failure to adopt safer alternatives, and systematic manipulation of scientific testing methods by suppressing test results. The plaintiffs also charged that the defendant spread false assurances about the safety of its talc products. Suit did not claim lost income.

The jury awarded over $42.6 million.

Citation: Lovell v. Johnson & Johnson, No. 2181-CV-02086 (Mass. Super. Ct. Middlesex Cnty. July 29, 2025).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member Aaron Chapman, Dallas; AAJ member Danny Kraft, New York City; and AAJ members Leslie-Anne Taylor and Andrea Marino Landry, both of Boston.

Plaintiff experts: William Longo, materials science, Suwanee, Ga.; and Arnold Brody, pathology, Miami.

Comment: In Pecos River Talc LLC v. Emory, 2025 WL 1921507 (E.D. Va. July 11, 2025), Pecos River Talc LLC, which reportedly was formed as part of Johnson & Johnson’s effort to resolve talc-related claims through bankruptcy, brought a trade libel suit against Theresa Emory, John Maddox, and Richard Kradin, who served as plaintiff experts in litigation between mesothelioma victims and cosmetic talc manufacturers. Pecos River alleged that certain statements the defendants made in a published scientific article were false. The defense moved to compel discovery as to whether repeated exposure to cosmetic talc may result in mesothelioma. The district court denied the motion, holding that the discovery request was neither relevant nor proportional to the needs of the case.