Minnesota state jury has delivered a $10.2 million verdict to a married couple in their suit against Vi-Jon LLC and the makers of other talc products like Johnson & Johnson and Gold Bond in which they alleged the 45-year-old husband’s mesothelioma was caused by exposure to body powder products.

The jury found that Vi-Jon, Sanofi subsidiary Gold Bond, Merck, J&J and two other companies had failed to warn about the risks of talc and that the talc in the body powder products Daniel J. Heyer had regularly used directly caused his mesothelioma, according to the verdict, filed Friday.

Attorneys representing the Heyers said in a statement Wednesday that the award is believed to be the state’s second-highest mesothelioma verdict.

“This family is going through pain almost no one can understand and that did not need to happen,” Shaina Weissman of Simon Greenstone Panatier PC said in the Wednesday statement. “The jury in this case recognized that and acted accordingly.”

The jury found that Gold Bond was 50% at fault, with 20% attributed to Vi-Jon, according to the verdict. The latter company has stopped making store-brand talc products and has destroyed its remaining inventory, according to the Heyers’ attorneys.

Additionally, the jury found that Perrigo Company of Tennessee was 15% to blame, with 5% to J&J and 10% to Merck, according to the verdict.

“We are happy that the jury heard the evidence and found justice for the Heyers,” Chad Alexander of Sieben Alexander PA said in the statement. “This is an important statement in Minnesota against companies that take our neighbors’ health lightly.”

Heyer was diagnosed with mesothelioma at the age of 43 in late 2024 and is now on oxygen and uses a wheelchair, according to his attorneys. He was given about a year to live when he was diagnosed, they said.

Heyer frequently used men’s talc products like Gold Bond Medicated Body Powder, Abercrombie & Fitch Woods powder and Dr. Scholl’s foot powder, among other brands, according to the complaint that he and his wife Nicole filed in October 2025.

Nicole Heyer was awarded $5 million, according to the verdict. She and Daniel both regularly used talc-based personal powder products until the early 2000s, according to the complaint. Daniel’s parents also used J&J talc baby powder on him and their other children while he was a baby in the early 1980s, the complaint said.

Heyer’s father was also a laborer for Northern States Power Co. and brought asbestos home on his work clothes, according to the complaint.

Heyer himself worked as a correctional officer for the state of Minnesota and was additionally exposed to asbestos through his work, the complaint said.

Representatives for the defendants didn’t respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

The Heyers are represented by Shaina Weissman and Holly Peterson of Simon Greenstone Panatier PC, and Chad Alexander of Sieben Alexander PA.

Vi-Jon is represented by Melissa Geist, Shana Russo and Steve McConnell of Reed Smith LLP, and David Schooler of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP.

Counsel information for the other defendants was not available.

The case is Heyer et al. v. Vi-Jon LLC, case number 62-CV-25-5182, in the Second Judicial District Court of Ramsay County, Minnesota.

By Emily Field – Law360 (May 20, 2026, 9:38 PM EDT) –Editing by Adam LoBelia.

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