Talc Mistrial: Not to Worry!

Many have expressed concern regarding the Mistrial in the 6th Talcum Powder Ovarian Cancer Trial. Not to worry, All is alive and well in St. Louis!

Monday, June 26, 2017 - Here's what happened. Two weeks into the scheduled 6 week trial, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down an opinion in the Bristol-Myers Plavix case, clarifying the facts necessary to establish General vs. Specific jurisdiction. i.e. what is necessary to file and try a case in any given State. In essence, the Court held that in order to sue J&J in Missouri, either the plaintiff has to be from Missouri, or J&J had to have done something WRONG in Missouri, which led to the outstate plaintiff's injury.

As applied to Talcum Powder, Onder Law presented evidence to the Court that J&J's Shower to Shower product was exclusively bottled in Missouri. J&J received Talc from its supplier Imerys with an M.S.D.S. Ovarian Cancer Warning. J&J acting through its Missouri agent Pharma-Tech removed the Cancer Warning, added fragrance & put it in bottles, not passing along the Ovarian Cancer Warning. Under the law, the negligence or wrongdoing leading to the injury occurred in Missouri. As such, anyone from across the country injured as a result of that wrongdoing can properly file a lawsuit in Missouri.

As the parties discussed the Supreme Court Opinion with the Trial Court, it became clear that regardless of how the Court ruled, there would most probably be a writ, or mid-trial appeal, filed, which could delay the continuation of the trial by days, weeks or even months. The judge felt it was not fair to impose the burden of a prolonged delay upon the jurors, and rightly declared a mistrial so the Specific Jurisdiction facts would be fleshed.

In declaring the mistrial, the Court stated: "And I believe that - - that the Bristol-Myers case this morning does set forth an avenue that can be pursued by the plaintiff regarding specific jurisdiction of nonresident Plaintiffs over these defendants." In essence, assuming Onder Law is able to prove that J&J's wrongdoing occurred in Missouri, caused harm to women across the country, the lawsuits can continue to hold J&J accountable for its actions in Missouri.

We thank everyone for their kind word & encouragement. All is alive & well in Missouri!!!

Information provided by TalcumPowderCancerLawsuit.com, a website devoted to providing news about talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits, as well as medical research and findings.