Imerys unit Imerys Talc America agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by 22 women who accused the mining company of supplying Johnson & Johnson with asbestos-laced talc that caused their cancers, Bloomberg reported.
The parties will not disclose the terms of the settlement, but it includes a payment of at least $5 million, according to the report. The deal allows Imerys to exit the lawsuit, leaving behind Johnson & Johnson as the defendant.
Imerys spokeswoman Gwen Myers confirmed the settlement and the company's dismissal from the action. Mark Lanier, the women’s lead lawyer, declined to comment.
The plaintiffs alleges that the U.S. pharmaceutical giant failed to warn consumers regarding the presence of the carcinogen in its baby powder after it has been supplied by Imerys. The mining company is facing about 9,000 claims stemming from allegations that its talc caused ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, a form of cancer that develops in the lining of the lungs, abdomen, or heart.
The trial on the claims is set to begin June 6 in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, Bloomberg reported.
A Los Angeles jury on May 24 ordered Johnson & Johnson and its talc suppliers to pay $21.7 million in compensatory damages in another case over the cancer risks of its talc products.
