October 18, 2025 – Yesterday, Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Pecos River Talc LLC filed a motion asking the Virginia federal court to enter judgment on its trade libel claims against three purported experts that testify on behalf of the plaintiffs’ bar in the cosmetic talc litigation.
The filing recites in detail the findings from the discovery in the action that irrefutably and unequivocally demonstrate the three “experts” published a journal article—to be used in the talc litigation—that they knew was premised on false factual assertions. Mainly, the experts falsely stated that mesothelioma patients cited in their article were exposed to asbestos only from cosmetic talc, which, as shown by the records from the very litigations in which they acted as experts, was not true.
“Today’s filing further affirms that there is no legitimate dispute that the plaintiffs’ experts authored and published “junk science” on cosmetic talc predicated on knowingly false factual statements. The evidence confirms what we have always asserted: The article is a lie, and the plaintiffs’ bar’s theories are rooted in falsehood and deception,” said Erik Haas, Worldwide Vice President of Litigation, Johnson & Johnson. “We are prosecuting, and will continue to pursue, other actions against the false pundits of the plaintiffs’ bar who knowingly defame our products and personnel.”
The litigation is Pecos River Talc LLC vs. Dr. Theresa Swain Emory, Dr. Richard Lawrence Kradin and Dr. John Coulter Maddox.
To learn more about our position and the science supporting the safety of talc, visit www.FactsAboutTalc.com.
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