St. Clair County Circuit Judge Chris Kolker entered contempt of court orders against Johnson & Johnson after the defendant’s vice president of women’s health Dr. Susan Nicholson failed to appear for cross-examination during an ovarian cancer trial on Monday.
On Friday, Kolker ordered Nicholson to appear Monday to resume cross-examination testimony as a defense witness over the objections of Johnson & Johnson’s defense counsel.
When Nicholson failed to appear, Kolker struck all previous testimony by her and advised the jury to disregard her comments, saying he did not find her to be a credible witness, according to a press release by PR Newswire.
“Plain and simple, J&J tried to bully this jury and this judge. As the biggest bully on the Big Pharma block, J&J will try anything to avoid responsibility for how it has poisoned thousands of women. J&J is a company that has lost its way and, in the process, turned on its own customers,” stated plaintiff attorney Jere Beasley of the Beasley Allen law firm in Montgomery, Ala.
Closing arguments in the trial, which began on July 12, could be scheduled as early as Thursday.
Kolker also entered an order that Johnson & Johnson attorney Allison Brown’s affidavit would be filed under seal. Brown is an attorney with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP in New York.
Additionally, counsel for plaintiff Colleen Cadagin filed a motion in limine regarding her examination by Johnson & Johnson’s counsel on Monday. Cadagin filed the suit as executor of the estate of decedent Elizabeth Driscoll, who allegedly developed ovarian cancer following a long-time use of Johnson & Johnson powder products.
The motion states that Johnson & Johnson intended on questioning Cadagin regarding the original complaint, her objections and answers to the defendant’s first interrogatories, and the affidavit of Sharon Carney.
Cadagin’s counsel argues that Kolker admonished the defendant to not display or question witnesses concerning pleadings filed in the case. They wrote that questioning Cadagin on the complaint has no relevance or foundation, adding that she has never seen the pleading.
The motion further states that Cadagin was questioned about Driscoll’s baby powder usage during her discovery deposition in November 2019, from which it became clear that she does not have any personal knowledge about the usage. Therefore, Cadagin’s counsel argues that it would be inappropriate to question her about Carney’s affidavit.
Cadigan’s counsel also seeks an order barring Johnson & Johnson’s counsel from asking her how or under what circumstances she decided to file this lawsuit. They argue that she was previously asked a similar question during her discovery deposition. The attorney-client privilege was asserted and she was instructed not to answer “if it relies on conversations you had with your attorneys.
She responded, “Then I have nothing to say …”
“After clearly asserting the attorney-client privilege, Johnson & Johnson continued to press the matter with Ms. Cadigan,” the motion states. “The plaintiff is legitimately concerned that this type of questioning may be contemplated by Johnson & Johnson during their adverse examination of Ms. Cadagin.”
The lawsuit was filed on Aug. 29, 2018, in the St. Clair County Circuit Court by Cadagin, who is Driscoll’s niece. Driscoll is the late aunt of plaintiff attorney John Driscoll.
The suit was filed shortly after jurors entered a $4.69 billion judgment against Johnson & Johnson in the St. Louis City Circuit Court.
On July 12, 2018, jurors found Johnson & Johnson was liable for $4.14 billion in punitive damages and awarded $550 million in compensatory damages to 22 women who claimed its talcum powder contained asbestos that caused them to develop ovarian cancer.
After Cadigan’s suit was filed in state court, it was removed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois before it was remanded back to St. Clair County in October 2018.
According to the complaint, Driscoll, of Smithton, used Johnson & Johnson baby powder and the adult talcum-powder containing product Shower to Shower for more than 40 years, but specifically from 1966 to 1973. Cadigan alleges that Driscoll’s longtime use of the product caused her to develop ovarian cancer in 2015. After an 18-month battle with cancer, Driscoll died in September 2016.
She seeks damages for failure to warn women of the dangers associated with prolonged talcum powder usage.
Kolker previously set the trial to begin in May 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic pushed it back 14 months.
Shortly before the trial began, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that Kolker couldn’t compel Johnson & Johnson to bring chief executive Alex Gorsky before jurors. When Driscoll’s estate sought to take Gorsky’s testimony, Johnson & Johnson attorney Jason Rankin moved to quash the notice.
Rankin wrote that Gorsky supervises Janssen, which is deploying COVID-19 vaccines across the world, and oversees 264 operating businesses in 60 countries. He argued that Gorsky is unable to serve as a full-time witness testifying in trial after trial.
Kolker denied Rankin’s motion, and the Illinois Supreme Court allowed a motion for supervisory order against Kolker.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 18-L-572