[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] The U.S. Supreme Court has dismissed Johnson & Johnson's appeal in the baby powder ovarian cancer lawsuit, the Wall Street Journal reported on the 1st (local time). With this ruling, Johnson & Johnson must pay $2.1 billion in damages to 20 female plaintiffs.
The lawsuit began in 2015 when 22 women who claimed to have developed cancer after using Johnson & Johnson's baby powder filed a lawsuit against the company.
A Missouri state court jury ruled in 2018 that Johnson & Johnson must pay $2.2 billion to the plaintiffs. Johnson & Johnson appealed, and last year the Missouri Court of Appeals reduced the damages to $2.1 billion and excluded two female plaintiffs from the case due to lack of jurisdiction.
The women who filed the lawsuit claim they developed cancer after using Johnson & Johnson baby powder. They argue that Johnson & Johnson's baby powder contained asbestos and that the company had known about this for a long time but concealed the fact.
Johnson & Johnson stopped selling the problematic baby powder in the U.S. and Canada last year. At that time, Johnson & Johnson explained the reason for the sales halt was a decrease in demand due to consumer concerns, although the company was confident in the product's safety.
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