A $72 million award in a lawsuit linking talcum powder with ovarian cancer has been overturned by a Missouri appeals court.
The lawsuit was filed by Jacqueline Fox, 62, of Birmingham, Alabama. She alleged that talcum powder and other Johnson & Johnson products contributed to her cancer. Fox died of ovarian cancer in 2015, CBS News/Associated Press reported.
She won her lawsuit in 2006, but the Missouri Eastern District court ruled Tuesday that Missouri was not the proper jurisdiction for the lawsuit. The court cited a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that there must be a strong connection between the plaintiff and the state where a lawsuit is filed.
Fox's case has 65 plaintiffs, but only two live in Missouri. Three other juries have ruled against Johnson & Johnson in similar lawsuits in Missouri. A Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman said the company believes Missouri has no jurisdiction in cases involving non-residents and "we expect the existing verdicts that we are appealing to be reversed,"CBS/AP reported.
In August, a Los Angeles jury awarded $417 million to a California woman who claimed she developed ovarian cancer due to long-term use of Johnson & Johnson baby