In 2015, plaintiff Anna Blount, 69, a high school language arts teacher, was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma, which is a rare, aggressive, incurable cancer that develops on the lining of the abdomen and that often stems from exposure to asbestos. Blount claimed that her condition was caused by exposure to asbestos contained in Cashmere Bouquet, a talcum powder manufactured by Colgate-Palmolive Co. that she had used from 1957 to 1978. Blount sued Colgate-Palmolive Co. and several other entities. She alleged that she was exposed to asbestos manufactured and/or distributed by the defendants. Blount’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. Blount ultimately resolved her claims against Kelly-Moore Paint Co. Inc., which she claimed asbestos exposure from Kelly-Moore’s Paco joint compound, and H.B. Fuller Co., which she alleged asbestos exposure from H.B. Fuller’s TEC Thin Set Cement. Thus, Blount’s complaint proceeded to trial against Colgate-Palmolive only, as the claims against the remaining defendants were disposed prior to trial. The plaintiff’s experts opined that Colgate-Palmolive’s Cashmere Bouquet talcum powder had been contaminated with asbestos and that Blount’s use of the product caused her to develop peritoneal mesothelioma. Colgate-Palmolive’s experts opined that the source mines for the talc used by Colgate-Palmolive were never contaminated by asbestos., Blount was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in 2015. She subsequently underwent surgical resection and hot chemotherapy to treat her condition. The plaintiff’s medical experts opined that Blount’s exposure to asbestos was the cause of the peritoneal mesothelioma. Thus, during closing arguments, plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury to award Blount $19 million in damages, and a finding of punitive damages. Colgate-Palmolive’s experts opined that Blount’s peritoneal mesothelioma was a spontaneous cancer.