Los Angeles Jury Returns $4.8 Million Verdict in Cosmetic Talc Mesothelioma Case 

Simon Greenstone Panatier secures first civil jury verdict since reopening of Los Angeles courts

LOS ANGELES – In the first civil jury verdict in Los Angeles County since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, Simon Greenstone Panatier trial lawyers secured a $4.8 million verdict on behalf of a 78-year-old mesothelioma victim.

A Vietnam War veteran, Willie McNeal Jr. suffers from pleural mesothelioma, a cancer of the lungs caused by asbestos exposure. Lead attorney Stuart Purdy presented evidence establishing that talc supplier Whittaker Clark & Daniels (WCD) was aware of asbestos contamination in its talc supply and linking McNeal’s 22-year daily use of Old Spice Talcum Powder to his cancer diagnosis.

For decades, WCD was one of the largest suppliers of cosmetic talc in the United States for products, including Old Spice. Talc and asbestos minerals are frequently found together in mining operations. According to trial testimony, talc extracted from WCD’s North Carolina talc mine is known to have asbestos contamination.

McNeal was represented at trial by Purdy and Tyson Gamble of the Los Angeles office of Simon Greenstone Panatier.

The case is Willie McNeal Jr. vs. Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, Los Angeles Superior Court, Case No. BC698965.