Three mesothelioma researchers won a major court victory last week when a federal judge in Virginia threw out a libel lawsuit filed by pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson alleging that they had knowingly and maliciously published false claims in a 2020 study linking talc exposure to mesothelioma.
Drs. Richard Kradin, Theresa Swain Emory, and John Coulter Maddox had previously published a study in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine examining 75 mesothelioma patients who alleged that they had only received asbestos exposure from cosmetic talc products.
However, judge Jamar Walker threw out the case, saying that according to the higher standards of proving libel against figures involved in a public debate, Johnson & Johnson would be unable to prove that the researchers acted maliciously, rather than having simply made mistakes.
“Mistakes are not evidence of actual malice,” Walker said in his order.
More On the Mesothelioma Lawsuit
The aforementioned “mistakes” concern the 2020 study’s connection with an earlier 2019 study published by Dr. Jacqueline Moline, which claimed that 33 subjects contracted cancer from asbestos-contaminated talc products.
However, subsequent inquiry revealed that 11 of the 33 subjects had been exposed to asbestos from other sources, undermining the paper’s claim that contaminated talc was the only possible reason for their mesothelioma.
When Kradin, Emory, and Maddox published their 2020 follow-up, they claimed that all 75 of their subjects were different from any of those who participated in the Moline study. Further discovery, however, found that at least two subjects were involved in both, and Johnson & Johnson claimed that at least six patients in the Emory paper had documented alternative sources of asbestos exposure.
Although these inconsistencies formed the basis of Johnson & Johnson’s legal case against the researchers, Judge Walker’s ruling has protected them from the corporation’s legal action and dealt a blow to its strategy of targeting mesothelioma researchers in civil court.
Johnson & Johnson’s Routine Practice
At present, there are a number of claims are currently in the court system, filed by mesothelioma patients and their families who alleged that they were exposed to asbestos through Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based products. The company discontinued its talc-based baby powder in the United States and Canada in 2020 after mounting litigation.
In turn, Johnson & Johnson has routinely carried out legal action against the mesothelioma researchers who have published studies examining talc products and their link to the deadly cancer.
For instance, the company previously sued Dr. Kradin for his practice of deleting past emails, alleging that he had knowingly deleted relevant evidence. Judge Walker also dismissed this claim in his order, saying that Johnson & Johnson had no way to prove intentional malfeasance.
Johnson & Johnson also pursued a lawsuit against Dr. Moline in New Jersey, alleging that the Hofstra University researcher knowingly falsified evidence in her 2019 study. A federal judge threw out that lawsuit in July, saying that Johnson & Johnson had no proof that her study was verifiably untrue.
Sources & Author
- J&J loses attack on talc researchers, couldn’t prove malice. KPVI. Retrieved from https://www.kpvi.com/news/national_news/j-j-loses-attack-on-talc-researchers-couldn-t-prove-malice/article_97888827-4db2-5f99-baca-1d3edda6c87a.html. Accessed on 08/28/26.
- Court expert can be sued over false talc study, judge says. Legal Newsline. Retrieved from https://www.legalnewsline.com/federal-courts/court-expert-can-be-sued-over-false-talc-study-judge-says/article_c4792af6-cad5-4e1b-a003-386c4eb0ce9f.html. Accessed on 08/28/26.
