Calif. Court Permits Talc Class Action Plaintiffs to Amend Complaint for Fifth Time

SAN DIEGO –– A California federal court has permitted plaintiffs with consumer class action talcum powder claims pending against Johnson & Johnson defendants to amend their complaint for the fifth time, noting that it has “wide discretion” to allow amendment and concluding that it was facilitating “the decision on the merits, rather than on the pleadings or technicalities.”

In an Aug. 20 order, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California granted the plaintiffs’ motion for leave to amend and file a fifth amended complaint over defense objections, concluding that the defendants will not suffer prejudice with the …