Theresa Garcia was diagnosed with mesothelioma in January 2020 when she was 52 years old. Garcia sued Johnson & Johnson and others, alleging they were negligent in selling talc-based products containing asbestos. After Garcia died in July 2020, the complaint was amended to allow her daughter, Stephanie Salcedo, as administrator of her mother’s estate, to bring claims under the Survival Act (755 ILCS 5/27-6 (West 2024)) and the Wrongful Death Act (740 ILCS 180/1 et seq. (West 2024)). The second amended complaint alleged wrongful death, successor liability, fraudulent misrepresentation, willful and wanton misconduct, strict liability, and breach of implied warranties.
After Salcedo sued, Johnson & Johnson created two new companies, Johnson & Johnson Holdco (NA) Inc. and LTL Management, LLC, to isolate its growing talc liability claims (Holdco and LTL, respectively). Holdco received the company’s assets, and LTL received the company’s liabilities, including talc claims. Johnson & Johnson also spun off its consumer health care products, including baby powder, into a third new company, Kenvue Inc. (Kenvue).
After a four-week trial, the jury returned a verdict for Salcedo, awarding $45 million for her and her siblings, including $30 million for Garcia’s claim brought under the Survival Act (755 ILCS 5/27-6 (West 2024)). The jury found Johnson & Johnson and Holdco each liable for 15% and Kenvue liable for 70%. In response to special interrogatories, the jury determined that Holdco and Kenvue were successors-in-interest to Johnson & Johnson, finding they were mere continuations of the company and continued to sell goods in the same product line.
The trial court entered judgment on the jury’s verdict and denied Johnson & Johnson’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, a new trial, or remittitur. The trial court later awarded Salcedo $2,657,835.92 in prejudgment interest. Johnson & Johnson appealed both orders separately, and the appeals were consolidated.
Johnson & Johnson contended it is entitled to (i) a remittitur of $30 million on the grounds that Illinois does not recognize damages for Garcia’s claim brought under the Survival Act, (ii) reversal or a new trial due to evidentiary rulings on three witnesses, which denied it a fair trial, and (iii) judgment notwithstanding the verdict, asserting that Kenvue and Holdco should not have been found liable under successor liability principles. Additionally, Johnson & Johnson challenged the constitutionality of the statute mandating prejudgment interest in personal injury and wrongful death cases (735 ILCS 5/2-1303(c) (West 2024)).
In its Opinion filed on July 10, 2026, the Appellate Court of Illinois First District affirmed, holding that the trial court correctly instructed the jury on damages for Garcia’s claim brought under the Survival Act and successor liability, and its evidentiary rulings did not deprive Johnson & Johnson of a fair trial. The Opinion stated that the injury at issue is not Garcia’s death itself but the injury she experienced before death. The Illinois appellate court further held that section 2-1303(c) is constitutional.
Source Salcedo v. Cyprus Amax Minerals Co., 2026 IL App (1st) 242199.
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