A St. Louis court has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay nearly $4.7 billion in damages and punitive damages to plaintiffs claiming the company\u2019s talcum powder caused cancer. Johnson & Johnson denied the allegations and asserts its products are harmless.<\/p>\n
In this case, 17 of the 22 plaintiffs were from out of\u00a0state.<\/p>\n
This exemplifies why Missouri desperately needs venue reform.\u00a0Missouri\u2019s existing laws have allowed thousands of out-of-state cases like this one to be transferred into the state\u2014mostly to St. Louis courts, which have a\u00a0national reputation\u00a0as being plaintiff-friendly.<\/p>\n
Bills\u00a0to end this practice and help address Missouri\u2019s poor legal climate ranking were proposed in both the 2017 and 2018 legislative sessions and were supported by the Missouri Chamber. So far, however, reforms have not made it across the finish line.<\/p>\n
This new ruling makes it clearer than ever that venue reform should be a top priority for the legislature going forward to prevent out-of-state plaintiffs from clogging our courts and trying to win outlandish judgements.<\/p>\n