A jury in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas ruled Friday that Johnson & Johnson was responsible for the death of Gayle Emerson, who alleged that the company’s talc-based baby powder contributed to her ovarian cancer.

The jury awarded Emerson’s family $50,000 in compensatory damages and $200,000 in punitive damages. Emerson had filed the lawsuit in 2019 and died six months later at age 68. Her son and daughter continued the case as plaintiffs after her death.

Erik Haas, J&J’s worldwide vice president of litigation, said the company plans to appeal. “This token verdict reflects the jury’s appreciation that the claims were meritless and divorced from the science,” Haas stated.

Emerson used J&J’s baby powder from 1969 until 2017, after learning from a relative about potential links to ovarian cancer. She had been diagnosed with the disease two years earlier. Her attorney, Leigh O’Dell of the Beasley Allen Law Firm, said the jury “found J&J’s product and corporate conduct directly responsible for the death of Ms. Emerson,” adding that the award, though smaller than hoped, reflects progress in holding the company accountable.

J&J faces lawsuits from more than 67,000 plaintiffs in state and federal courts claiming talc products contained asbestos and caused ovarian and other cancers. The company maintains its talc-based products were safe, asbestos-free, and did not cause cancer.

The company ceased selling talc-based baby powder in the U.S. in 2020, replacing it with a cornstarch formula. Efforts to resolve litigation through bankruptcy were rejected by federal courts, pausing most ovarian cancer trials until recently. The first post-bankruptcy talc trial in California resulted in a $40 million award to two women in December.

Additional cases are scheduled in state courts in the coming months, while federal litigation could move forward following a January ruling allowing expert testimony linking talc use to ovarian cancer. J&J has indicated it will appeal that decision.

Historically, J&J has faced mixed outcomes in talc litigation, with some verdicts reaching as high as $4.69 billion, while other cases were won by the company or reduced on appeal. Most claims involve ovarian cancer, though a smaller number concern mesothelioma, a rare but deadly cancer linked to asbestos exposure.