Mo. Federal Judge Returns 65-Plaintiff Talcum Powder Ovarian Cancer Suit to State Court

ST. LOUIS — A federal judge in Missouri rejected allegations that 65 plaintiffs were fraudulently misjoined to a lawsuit seeking damages for ovarian cancer allegedly caused by their use of a talcum powder product manufactured by Johnson & Johnson.

In a Sept. 24 decision remanding the case to St. Louis County Circuit Court, Judge Jean C. Hamilton of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri ruled that the facts of the case do not warrant application of the fraudulent joinder doctrine as an exception to the complete diversity rule.

The plaintiffs filed their petition June 23 in …