Court ruling could help J&J defeat St Louis talc lawsuits

NEW YORK, Feb 25 (Reuters): A Missouri Supreme Court ruling on talc lawsuits could reduce the liability and number of large trials Johnson & Johnson faces over allegations its talc products, including baby powder, cause cancer.

The ruling will likely offer some respite to the healthcare conglomerate as it deals with growing pressure over the safety of its talc products, some defence lawyers said.

The company revealed in its annual report on Wednesday that it had received subpoenas from the US Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission related to talc litigation.

Some plaintiffs' lawyers, however, played down the impact of the ruling.

It was a trial in St. Louis's 22nd Circuit Court, brought by 21 plaintiffs from outside of the city whose cases were joined to that of a single St. Louis resident, that in July produced a record $4.69 billion talc verdict against J&J. The company is facing several more such lawsuits in St. Louis.

However, Missouri's high court on Feb. 13 ruled in a separate talc case that allowed a non-resident to participate in joined cases was "a clear and direct violation" of state law barring the use of joinder - combining two or more cases - to allow courts to hear cases they otherwise could not.

Most state courts can only hear cases involving plaintiffs or defendants from that state or alleging injuries occurring within their jurisdiction. The US Supreme Court strengthened those restrictions in a 2017 decision.

But the St. Louis court had allowed out-of-state residents to continue to sue New Jersey-based J&J through liberal use of joinder.