Calif. Jury Adds $100,000 in Punitive Damage Award to Earlier $26.5 Million Verdict

SAN FRANCISCO –– A California jury has added a total of $100,000 in punitive damages to an earlier $26.5 million verdict after finding that defendants Johnson & Johnson and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. had acted with malice and oppression.

The California Superior Court for Alameda County entered judgment totaling $26,335,554.50 against the defendants in the cosmetic asbestos talcum powder case after calculating settlement credits totaling $237,412.50.

Jurors awarded $85,000 in punitive damages against Johnson & Johnson and $15,000 in punitive damages against Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc.

According to the Aug. 19 verdict sheet, jurors also found that the …