Three years ago, a California jury agreed that talc in Avon cosmetic talc had caused Rita Chapman’s fatal mesothelioma and ordered the company to pay $51 million to her survivors. Yesterday, a California appellate court denied the company’s appeal of that decision, affirming that Avon knew about its products’ contamination risks for decades, and that asbestos-contaminated talc in its products caused her death.
Appeal Centers on $51 Million Jury Award to Mesothelioma Victim
Rita Chapman died of malignant mesothelioma in May 2025 after decades of using Avon’s asbestos-tainted cosmetic talc products, but before her death, she and her husband filed suit against Avon Products and other companies. In 2022, a jury found that Avon’s products contained manufacturing defects, failed to perform as safely as ordinary consumers would expect, and that the company failed to warn consumers about asbestos risks, and that all of these were all substantial factors in causing Chapman’s cancer.
The mesothelioma verdict included a fraud finding, with jurors determining that Avon had intentionally failed to disclose information that could have affected how Chapman used the products. They awarded $32.8 million in compensatory damages to the victim, $8 million to her husband Gary, who took over the case after her death, and $11.3 million in punitive damages, with Avon assigned $10.3 million responsibility for that $ punitive award.
Avon’s Appeal Challenges Mesothelioma Expert’s Testimony
Avon’s appeal of the mesothelioma verdict centered on challenges to expert testimony from Dr. William Longo regarding asbestos presence in the company’s talc products. The appellate court rejected the company’s assertions, finding that he was properly qualified and that Avon had failed to challenge his findings under California’s People v. Kelly standard for determining reliability of scientific techniques.
Regarding the mesothelioma expert’s testimony, the court wrote, “Avon simply presented different expert opinions, which the jury did not accept. Although Avon’s experts challenged Dr. Longo’s testimony, detection of asbestos has been evolving for 50 years and Avon was unable to show that Longo’s testimony and methods were illogical, clearly unreliable, or based on invalid scientific theories.” The ruling also found no issue with testimony from another expert, Dr. Steven Haber, rejecting Avon’s complaints as insufficiently detailed bullet-point summaries without cogent arguments explaining why specific testimony was improper.
A representative for the mesothelioma victim’s survivors said that the verdict, and following appellate decision, demonstrates that companies “cannot ignore science, disregard their own internal warnings and put profits over people’s health without being held accountable.” She added that “Avon was aware of asbestos concerns in talc dating back to the 1970s and was involved in industry testing, yet it never warned consumers.”
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net are here to help. Contact us today at 1-800-692-8608 to learn more.
