Evan Plotkin Wins $15 Million Judgment from Johnson & Johnson in Mesothelioma Suit

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — On Oct. 15, a jury determined that Johnson & Johnson must pay $15 million to local real-estate developer Evan Plotkin, who claims to have developed mesothelioma as a result of using the company’s talc powder for decades.

Plotkin, president of Springfield-based NAI Plotkin, sued the company in 2021 soon after his diagnosis. The jury in Fairfield County Superior Court in Connecticut also found that the company should pay additional punitive damages, which will be determined later by the judge overseeing the case, according to Reuters.

“We are thrilled that the jury saw past Johnson & Johnson’s despicable attempts to avoid responsibility for the cancer they caused,” Ben Braly, a lawyer for Plotkin, told BusinessWest. “Evan developed a cancer singularly associated with asbestos exposure after 50 years of using asbestos-containing baby powder intended for use directly on a person’s face and body and on their babies and children. In spite of this, Johnson & Johnson tried to blame Evan for his cancer.

“The jury in Bridgeport reaffirms what juries around the country find over and over involving mesothelioma cancer,” he continued. “Specifically, Johnson’s Baby Powder had asbestos, J&J knew it, and, when faced with doing the right thing or the wrong thing about the issue, they chose the wrong thing every single time.”

Erik Haas, Johnson & Johnson’s worldwide vice president of Litigation, said in a statement that the company would appeal “erroneous” rulings by the trial judge that kept the jury from hearing critical facts about the case, Reuters also reported. Johnson & Johnson is currently seeking to resolve claims by more than 62,000 people who say that they got ovarian and other gynecological cancers from talc through a nearly $9 billion settlement in bankruptcy.

Plotkin told BusinessWest that “I’m just happy that this is behind me and that justice was served.”