Johnson & Johnson Talc Settlement: $700M Deal, Lawsuits, Verdicts

There is no global Johnson & Johnson talc settlement for personal injury claims. The company paid $700 million in June 2024 to settle deceptive-marketing investigations brought by 42 states and the District of Columbia, but that agreement did not resolve the tens of thousands of individual lawsuits alleging that talc-based baby powder and body powder caused ovarian cancer or mesothelioma.¹²³

What the $700 Million Multistate Settlement Actually Covered

Announced on June 11, 2024, the multistate deal was led by Texas, Florida, and North Carolina, with 39 other states and D.C. joining.¹⁴

The consent judgment permanently bars J&J from manufacturing, marketing, selling, or distributing any baby, body, or cosmetic powder containing talc in the United States, whether directly or through third parties.¹⁵

If you are a consumer with a cancer claim, this settlement did not compensate you and did not release your case. It resolved the states’ consumer protection investigations only.

Why There Is No Global Settlement for Injury Claims

Rather than settle the injury cases in the regular court system, J&J tried three times to route them through bankruptcy using a strategy known as the “Texas two-step,” creating a subsidiary, transferring talc liabilities to it, and putting the subsidiary into Chapter 11. All three attempts failed.

The first two filings involved a subsidiary called LTL Management, created in 2021, and both were dismissed.⁶ The third try came through Red River Talc LLC, which filed for Chapter 11 in 2024 with a proposed $8 billion to $9 billion settlement backed by more than 75% of voting claimants.⁷

On March 31, 2025, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez of the Southern District of Texas rejected the Red River plan and dismissed the case. Lopez found the filing was not made in good faith, citing “voting and solicitation irregularities” and an “unreasonably short voting time for thousands of creditors.” He held that the subsidiary had no real business to reorganize and that the proposed third-party liability releases were impermissible.⁶

J&J did not appeal. It reversed approximately $7 billion it had reserved for the bankruptcy settlement and announced it would return to the tort system to defend claims individually.³ New MDL filings jumped by 17% after the dismissal, according to J&J’s own reporting.⁸

What the Injury Lawsuits Allege

The core claim is that Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that its talc products, primarily Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower, were sometimes contaminated with asbestos, and concealed that from consumers and regulators. Plaintiffs say the exposure caused ovarian cancer or mesothelioma.⁹

Internal lab reports and memos produced in litigation, running from the late 1950s through the 2000s, showed that testing by J&J, its suppliers, and outside labs repeatedly identified asbestos and related fibrous minerals in the company’s talc. A 1975 report described asbestos levels as “rather high.” Plaintiffs also allege that J&J shared favorable results with the FDA while withholding unfavorable ones — a practice a New Jersey Superior Court judge in 2018 called “a form of a misrepresentation by omission.”⁹

J&J denies all of it. The company says its talc products are safe, contain no asbestos, and do not cause cancer, and it has described the litigation as driven by “junk science” and third-party litigation financing.³

Where Individual Cases Stand Now

Most federal cases are consolidated in MDL 2738 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, before Judge Michael A. Shipp.¹⁰ Two developments in 2026 will shape whether the cases move toward trial or toward a negotiated resolution.

Expert Testimony Ruling

In January 2026, retired U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson, serving as a court-appointed special master, issued a 658-page recommendation on the admissibility of plaintiffs’ expert testimony. Wolfson found the experts used “reliable methodologies” and that epidemiological studies showed a “positive, statistically significant association between genital talc powder use and ovarian cancer.” She recommended allowing that testimony at trial and letting J&J present its own experts in rebuttal.¹¹

J&J has said it will challenge the recommendation, arguing Wolfson failed to properly apply 2023 amendments to Federal Rule of Evidence 702, which tightened the standard for expert testimony. If the recommendation stands, it clears the way for bellwether trials in the MDL, starting with Carter Judkins v. Johnson & Johnson.¹¹¹²

Court-Ordered Mediation

Judge Shipp appointed Fouad Kurdi as mediator in March 2026. The first session, originally set for April 13, was held on April 27, 2026, with both sides required to send representatives who had actual settlement authority. No deal was considered imminent, and the primary obstacle has been agreeing on a number both sides view as fair.¹³

What Juries Have Awarded So Far

Verdicts have varied widely, and many large awards have been reduced on appeal or by post-trial rulings. Recent and notable outcomes include:

Missouri, 2018: $4.69 billion awarded to 22 women in an ovarian cancer case; later reduced to $2.12 billion on appeal, with the finding of consumer-safety disregard upheld.⁸
Baltimore, December 2025: $1.56 billion to Cherie Craft for peritoneal mesothelioma, the largest single-plaintiff talc award to date. J&J has said it will appeal, calling the verdict “egregious and patently unconstitutional.”¹⁴
California, October 2025: $966 million to the family of Mae Moore, who died of mesothelioma. A judge later vacated $950 million in punitive damages, leaving $16 million; the family has said it plans to appeal.⁸
Massachusetts, July 2025: $42.6 million to Paul and Kathryn Lovell in a mesothelioma case.⁸
California, December 2025: $40 million to two women with ovarian cancer in a bellwether trial.¹⁵
Minnesota, December 2025: $65.5 million to a 37-year-old woman with pleural mesothelioma.¹⁵
Los Angeles, June 2026: $32 million to the family of a woman who died of mesothelioma; the judge had already blocked punitive damages in that case.¹⁶

J&J has also won cases. In June 2026, a Los Angeles jury returned a defense verdict in a trial brought by three women alleging ovarian cancer. In late May 2026, an Oklahoma jury sided with J&J in a Shower to Shower mesothelioma case.¹⁶ The company’s litigation chief, Erik Haas, has said J&J won 16 of 17 ovarian cancer trials over an 11-year period.³ Individual outcomes turn on the facts, the venue, and the trial court’s rulings, and large verdicts frequently shrink after post-trial motions and appeals.

Other Companies and Corporate Changes That May Affect Your Claim

Talc claims can involve more than one defendant. A few names come up often enough to be worth knowing.

Kenvue. In 2023, J&J spun off its consumer health business into a separate publicly traded company, Kenvue. According to J&J, it retained liability for talc claims in the United States and Canada, while Kenvue took responsibility for talc litigation elsewhere.¹⁷ In at least one Illinois case, a jury allocated 70% of responsibility to Kenvue and 30% to J&J.⁸ A separate proposed class action alleges that the Kenvue spinoff, together with the creation of LTL Management and Red River Talc, was a series of fraudulent transfers designed to shield assets from talc victims.¹⁸

Imerys Talc America. A former J&J talc supplier, Imerys filed for bankruptcy in 2019. Together with former owner Cyprus Mines Corp., it has proposed an $862.5 million joint trust to pay cancer claims.¹⁹ As of mid-2026, the reorganization plan remained before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, with confirmation continued to a future date.²⁰

Vanderbilt Minerals LLC. Vanderbilt, which acquired a talc producer in 1974, filed for Chapter 11 in the Northern District of New York on February 16, 2026, facing more than 1,400 asbestos-related cases and an estimated $117.2 million in talc-related liabilities. The company is pursuing a court-supervised sale of its assets.²¹

For now, anyone tracking a J&J talc claim should watch two things: whether Judge Shipp adopts the Wolfson expert-testimony recommendation and clears bellwether trials to begin, and whether the Kurdi-led mediation produces a framework the parties can actually agree on. Until one or both moves, the litigation continues case by case.

1
New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. Attorney General Platkin, 42 States Announce $700 Million Johnson and Johnson Settlement
2
Drugwatch. Talcum Powder Settlements
3
Johnson & Johnson. Johnson and Johnson to Return to Tort System to Defeat Meritless Talc Claims
4
Office of the Attorney General for the State of Maryland. Attorney General Brown Announces $700 Million Johnson and Johnson Settlement
5
Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. Attorney General Schwalb Announces Johnson and Johnson Settlement
6
Marin Murphy Law. Bankruptcy Court Rejects Red River Talc Plan, Dismisses J&J Talcum Powder Case
7
ConsumerNotice.org. Talcum Powder Settlements
8
Sokolove Law. Talcum Powder Settlements
9
Reuters. Johnson and Johnson Knew for Decades That Asbestos Lurked in Its Baby Powder
10
U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Johnson and Johnson Talcum Powder Litigation
11
Fierce Pharma. J&J Talc Litigation: NJ Court Recommends Allowing Expert Testimony
12
GovInfo. In Re Johnson and Johnson Talcum Powder Products MDL, Case No. 3:16-md-2738
13
Miller & Zois. Talcum Powder Lawsuits
14
Fierce Pharma. Baltimore Jury Orders J&J to Pay $1.5B, Largest Ever Award to Talc Plaintiff
15
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. J&J Talc Cancer Verdicts and Asbestos Lawsuits
16
The Recorder. Los Angeles Jury Awards $32M in Talc Trial Against Johnson and Johnson
17
France 24. Johnson and Johnson Faces UK Lawsuit Over Talc Cancer Claim
18
Androvett Legal Media. Proposed Class Action Filed Alleging Series of Fraudulent Transfers by Johnson and Johnson in Talc Litigation
19
Law360. Imerys, Cyprus Mines Propose Ch. 11 Plans With $862M Trust
20
Kroll. Imerys Talc America Bankruptcy
21
Bondoro. Vanderbilt Minerals Filing Alert