In 2016, plaintiff Pui Fong, 45, was diagnosed with mesothelioma, which is an aggressive, incurable cancer that often stems from exposure to asbestos. Fong claimed that she was exposed to asbestos in a talc product, Johnson’s Baby Powder, both from it being used on her as a child and from her using it on her own children. She claimed that her cancer was a result of her exposure to the asbestos in the talc product. Fong sued the manufacturer of Johnson’s Baby Powder, Johnson & Johnson; its affiliate, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc.; and the companies that mined and supplied talc to the Johnson & Johnson entities, Imerys Talc America Inc., Imerys USA Inc., Imerys Talc Vermont Inc., Cyprus Amax Minerals Co. and Cyprus Mines Corp. Fong alleged that the products were defectively designed and that the defendants negligently failed to provide warnings that disclosed the hazards of asbestos. Fong’s complaint was coordinated with hundreds of other cases that were pending in different counties that shared common questions of fact or law regarding direct and indirect exposure, and involved many of the same defendants. The cases were joined in one court, the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Many of those cases were put on hold while awaiting a decision regarding an appellate case involving indirect exposure. The Imerys and Cyprus entities were ultimately let out of the case, and Fong’s complaint proceeded to trial against and Johnson & Johnson and its affiliate only. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that the source talc for the product that Fong used was primarily mined in Korea and Vermont and that it was contaminated with asbestos. Counsel argued that Johnson & Johnson knew that there was asbestos in its talc for decades, but that it did not do enough to safeguard its consumers, such as taking the product out of consumer access and replacing talc with cornstarch. Johnson & Johnson’s counsel contended that Johnson & Johnson’s product was safe and that it did not contain asbestos, let alone in sufficient quantities to be dangerous. Counsel pointed to numerous scientific studies and literature that confirmed the safety of talc, as well as the company’s own testing protocol, which included tests on hundreds of thousands of samples and which detected no asbestos. Counsel also pointed to several alternative sources of asbestos exposure for Fong, including Fong’s childhood in Hong Kong during the 1970s and early 1980s, a time period in which asbestos use was allegedly widespread in Hong Kong., Fong was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2016, when a radiology scan at a hospital detected fluid in the right side of her chest. She underwent chemotherapy, radiation and surgery to remove the linings of her lungs. Fong sought recovery of damages for her past and future pain and suffering. Her husband, Thai Wong, presented a derivative claim seeking recovery for his loss of consortium.