Fully Reported

ST. LOUIS – A Missouri jury has awarded $72 million to the family of an Alabama woman who died from ovarian cancer, which she said was caused by using Johnson & Johnson’s well-known baby powder and other products containing talcum. The civil suit by Jackie Fox of Birmingham was part of a broader claim in the city of St. Louis Circuit Court involving nearly 60 people. Her son took over as plaintiff following his mother’s October 2015 death at 62, more than two years after her diagnosis. Marvin Salter of Jacksonville, Florida, said his late mother, who was a foster parent, used the iconic talcum powder as a bathroom staple for decades. “It just became second nature, like brushing your teeth,” he said. “It’s a household name.” A Fox attorney said the jury verdict Monday night, which came after nearly five hours of deliberations at the conclusion of a three-week trial, was the first such case among more than 1,000 nationally to result in a jury’s monetary award. The jury s...

Canada's Department of Justice has begun to claw back almost $400,000 worth of bonuses erroneously awarded to dozens of federal lawyers, the second major botch-up by officials in charge of compensation and benefits. An internal investigation has found that 74 lawyers were mistakenly given lump sums of between $1,064 and $9,908 as performance pay that was technically against the rules. An internal briefing for William Pentney, deputy minister of justice, says the department must claw back bonuses worth an average of $5,250. (Federal Justice Department) The improper largesse occurred between 2013 and 2015 for a group of lawyers that were also given salary increases at the same time. A new government rule had come into effect forbidding anyone from receiving a pay increase and a bonus in the same year. Federal law allows no discretion to management on the issue, so the department must find ways to recover the money. Debt to Crown "These overpayment amounts, alt...