(Bloomberg) -- Johnson & Johnson persuaded a California jury to reject a woman’s claims that asbestos in the company’s iconic baby powder caused her to develop cancer, its latest win in litigation over the talc-based product.

Key Insights

• J&J has used arguments focusing on alternative causes of women’s cancers to win several recent talc trials, including one in October in its hometown of New Brunswick, New Jersey.
• Jurors in state court in Eureka, California, found plaintiff Carla Allen was exposed to asbestos-tainted baby powder, but that wasn’t a “substantial factor” in causing her mesothelioma, an asbestos-linked cancer.
• Plaintiffs contend J&J has known since the 1970s its talc products contain asbestos and hid that from consumers to protect the brand. J&J counters its baby powder has never been fouled with asbestos and decades of testing have found it safe.
• The company still faces more than 11,000 talc suits, many of which accuse J&J’s baby powder of causing ovarian cancer in women. It’s appealing a Missouri jury’s finding in July that it must pay 22 women $4.69 billion for causing their ovarian cancers with asbestos-tainted powder.
• Bart Williams, a J&J lawyer, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday on the California verdict.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jef Feeley in Wilmington, Delaware at jfeeley@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth Wollman, Joe Schneider

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