Asbestos Lawsuit News: Talc Verdicts, J&J Mediation, EPA Ban

The biggest asbestos lawsuit news of the past year is a $1.5 billion verdict against Johnson & Johnson in Baltimore, the collapse of the company’s bankruptcy strategy, and a wave of large verdicts in both talc and non-talc cases that shows the litigation accelerating rather than winding down. Court-ordered mediation in the federal talc MDL is underway but has not produced a global deal, and separate rulings on railroad liability, out-of-state receiverships, and the EPA’s chrysotile asbestos ban are reshaping how future cases will be fought.

A $1.5 Billion Baltimore Verdict Leads a Wave of Talc Awards

On December 22, 2025, a Baltimore jury awarded more than $1.5 billion to Cherie Craft, who was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in January 2024 and said she had used Johnson’s Baby Powder every day of her life until that diagnosis. The breakdown: $59.84 million in compensatory damages, $1 billion in punitive damages against J&J, and $500 million in punitive damages against J&J’s Pecos River Talc subsidiary.1The Daily Record. Baltimore Jury Awards Over $1.5 Billion in Johnson & Johnson Talc Mesothelioma Verdict

It is the largest individual talc verdict to date, but far from the only one. Other recent results against J&J:

J&J has pledged to appeal essentially all of these verdicts. Erik Haas, the company’s worldwide vice president of litigation, has repeatedly called the claims “junk science” and the punitive awards “egregious and patently unconstitutional.”1The Daily Record. Baltimore Jury Awards Over $1.5 Billion in Johnson & Johnson Talc Mesothelioma Verdict An earlier $260 million award to plaintiff Kyung Lee in Portland, Oregon from June 2024 was overturned in September 2024 by the trial judge, who ordered a new trial; plaintiff’s counsel said they plan to appeal.6Goldberg Segalla. $260M Talc Verdict Overturned by Oregon Judge

More than 67,600 lawsuits are now consolidated in the federal talc MDL (MDL 2738) in the District of New Jersey, presided over by Judge Michael A. Shipp, making it the largest active MDL in the country.4Drugwatch. Talcum Powder Settlements Plaintiffs allege J&J’s talc products were contaminated with asbestos and that the company concealed the risks for decades. J&J stopped selling talc-based products in the U.S. and Canada in 2020 and worldwide in 2023.7Courtroom View Network. Florida Jury Awards $20M in Talc Trial Against J&J Over Doctors Death

J&J’s Bankruptcy Strategy Is Finished

For years J&J tried to avoid juries using the “Texas Two-Step”: creating a subsidiary, moving all talc liability into it, and putting that subsidiary in bankruptcy to freeze lawsuits. Three attempts, three failures. The first two filings by LTL Management were dismissed by the Third Circuit for bad faith. The third, filed by Red River Talc in September 2024 with a proposed settlement valued at roughly $8 billion over 25 years, was rejected by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez on March 31, 2025. Judge Lopez found “fatal flaws” in the voting process (at least half of the more than 90,000 votes could not be counted) and ruled that proposed releases for non-debtor third parties exceeded what bankruptcy law allows.8Creditor Coalition. Red River Talc Finally Says Good-Bye to Bankruptcy

J&J said it would not appeal and would not file another bankruptcy case, closing that door and clearing the way for individual trials to continue.4Drugwatch. Talcum Powder Settlements

Mediation Is Underway, No Deal Yet

In August 2025, Judge Shipp established a formal structure for settlement negotiations, appointing lead negotiation counsel and a Plaintiffs’ Negotiation Committee, and ordered the parties into mediation starting in September 2025 with representatives who have full settlement authority.9Darrow AI. Johnson and Johnson Talc Lawsuit As of mid-2026 that mediation continues without agreement.4Drugwatch. Talcum Powder Settlements

Bloomberg Intelligence analysts have estimated J&J may ultimately pay as much as $11 billion to resolve all outstanding lawsuits, above the $8 to $9 billion offered during the rejected bankruptcy.4Drugwatch. Talcum Powder Settlements J&J has been settling individual mesothelioma claims, but tens of thousands of ovarian cancer cases remain the central unresolved piece. A federal bellwether case was selected in July 2025, California has coordinated ovarian cancer proceedings, and Philadelphia established a separate mass tort program with bellwether trials scheduled for 2026.9Darrow AI. Johnson and Johnson Talc Lawsuit

Two 2026 evidentiary developments cut in opposite directions. In January 2026 a special master in the J&J MDL ruled that plaintiffs’ experts can testify about the link between talc and ovarian cancer. In December 2025, the FDA withdrew a proposed rule that would have required mandatory asbestos testing for talc products.10Sokolove Law. Talcum Powder Lawsuit Updates

Non-Talc Verdicts Are Also Climbing

Asbestos litigation extends well beyond J&J, and several recent verdicts show juries continuing to find large awards against industrial defendants.

  • $117 million in New York County (May 2025) to a 75-year-old former sheet metal worker with pleural mesothelioma linked to asbestos fireproofing used during construction of the original World Trade Center in the 1970s. The sole remaining defendant, Mario & DiBono Plastering Co., was found 80% liable.11Weitz & Luxenberg. Weitz & Luxenberg Wins Record Asbestos Verdict
  • $83 million in Boston (September 2025) to Judith Lapointe, a 72-year-old Massachusetts woman who developed pleural mesothelioma from sanding pottery clay made by American Art Clay Company. The jury found the company had concealed asbestos in its clay since the 1960s and awarded $60 million in punitive damages.12PR Newswire. Boston Jury Returns $83 Million Asbestos Exposure Verdict Against American Art Clay Company
  • $38 million upheld on appeal in March 2025 by a Manhattan appellate court against commercial boiler manufacturer Burnham. Plaintiff Romeo Maffei, a 66-year-old demolition worker, developed asbestos-related lung cancer from removing Burnham boilers; the jury assigned Burnham 85% of the fault.13New York Law Journal. Manhattan State Appellate Court Upholds $38 Million Asbestos Verdict
  • $33.4 million in Los Angeles (February 2026) to George Stephenson, an 80-year-old Army veteran and longtime Hollywood cameraman who developed mesothelioma from asbestos-insulated cables in Mole-Richardson studio lighting equipment. The jury found Mole-Richardson 100% liable with a finding of malice; the case settled before the punitive damages phase was complete.14Goldberg Segalla. George Stephenson v. PK&P Investment Co.

Appellate Rulings That Could Reshape Future Cases

Ninth Circuit Shields BNSF Railway in Libby, Montana

In February 2026, the Ninth Circuit held in Jackson Wells, et al. v. BNSF Railway Company that BNSF is protected from strict liability for asbestos exposure in Libby, Montana under the “common carrier exception.” Libby is tied to one of the worst asbestos contamination events in U.S. history, linked to vermiculite mining and transport. The court reversed a district court judgment that had awarded $4 million to each of two plaintiffs’ estates, reasoning that because BNSF was federally mandated to carry the vermiculite and the railyard contamination arose from executing that duty, strict liability did not apply.15U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Jackson Wells, et al. v. BNSF Railway Company, No. 24-4802 The decision could prompt BNSF to move to dismiss hundreds of other pending Montana asbestos cases.16Montana Free Press. Appeals Court Sides With BNSF Railway in Dispute With Libby Asbestos Victims

South Carolina Receiverships Head Toward the Supreme Court

South Carolina asbestos filings jumped 300% from 2024 to 2025, with all cases assigned to a single judge, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal. A distinctive practice there involves appointing receivers over defunct companies to pursue their former insurers for decades-old asbestos policy proceeds. The practice has expanded to include solvent, functioning companies based outside South Carolina and even foreign corporations, drawing rebukes from courts in Canada and the United Kingdom.17Judicial Hellholes. South Carolina Asbestos

A petition for certiorari was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in August 2025 in the Atlas Turner case (No. 25-213), challenging whether South Carolina courts have constitutional authority to appoint receivers over out-of-state entities and their assets. As of mid-2026 the Supreme Court has not acted on the petition.17Judicial Hellholes. South Carolina Asbestos

Asbestos Trust Fund Payouts

For claimants whose exposure involved now-bankrupt companies, more than 60 active asbestos bankruptcy trust funds hold an estimated $30 billion in assets. Since 1988 the trusts have paid more than $17 billion to victims. Most mesothelioma patients file with 20 or more trusts simultaneously and typically receive $300,000 to $400,000 in combined payouts. Claims are usually processed in three to six months, with expedited review for terminally ill patients.18Asbestos.com. Asbestos Trust Funds

Payment percentages (the fraction of a claim’s scheduled value actually paid) continue to drift down as claim volume grows and assets are drawn down. The General Motors trust dropped from 12.2% to 10.3% in March 2026, and Kaiser Aluminum went from 15.5% to 10.6% in May 2025.19ELS Law. Asbestos Trust Funds

The EPA Chrysotile Ban Is Paused

In March 2024, the EPA finalized a rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act banning chrysotile asbestos, the only form still imported and used in the United States. The rule set phased deadlines: an immediate import ban for the chlor-alkali industry, a six-month ban for automotive friction products, and longer phase-outs for specialized applications like sheet gaskets in nuclear and titanium dioxide processing.20U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Biden-Harris Administration Finalizes Ban on Ongoing Uses of Asbestos

Industry groups including the American Chemistry Council challenged the rule in the Fifth Circuit. In July 2025 the court granted a motion to hold the case in abeyance for up to 30 months while the EPA reconsiders the rule, pausing enforcement and compliance deadlines. The Fifth Circuit heard oral arguments in June 2026, after two of the original industry challengers withdrew their petitions earlier that year.21Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization. 5th Circuit Arguments on EPA Asbestos Rule Existing OSHA regulations governing workplace asbestos exposure remain in effect during the pause.

Separately, in November 2024 the EPA released a supplemental risk evaluation on “legacy uses” of asbestos, including material still present in older buildings where manufacturing stopped long ago. The agency concluded that these legacy uses significantly contribute to the unreasonable risk from asbestos and has started a risk management process to address them.22U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA Actions To Protect the Public From Exposure to Asbestos