What Has Changed for Asbestos Families Since Fall 2025

Our last news post ran in September 2025. A lot has happened since. Here is what matters for people with asbestos disease and their families, as of November 12, 2026.

J&J's proposed ovarian cancer talc settlement

On July 28, 2026, Johnson & Johnson announced a settlement of about $5.5 billion for the roughly 76,000 remaining lawsuits claiming its talc powder caused ovarian cancer. The deal goes forward only if the lawyers for at least 95% of those claims sign on. The AP reported that the first payment, of no more than $3 billion, would come in 2027.

What it means: This is an ovarian cancer deal, not a mesothelioma deal. If you have a pending ovarian cancer talc suit, your lawyer should explain what the offer would mean for you and what happens if the deal does not reach 95%. No asbestos trust that is open today pays ovarian cancer claims, so for most women these suits are the main path. Our page on asbestos, talc and ovarian cancer explains how those claims work. Our earlier post has the background.

Talc mesothelioma cases have kept going to trial one by one. In October 2025 a Los Angeles jury awarded about $966 million to the family of Mae Moore, who died of mesothelioma in 2021: $16 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages. In March 2026 the trial judge, Ruth Kwan, threw out the $950 million punitive award, finding no evidence that J&J acted with malice, oppression or fraud. The $16 million award and the jury's finding that the powder caused her cancer still stand. Very large punitive awards are often cut after trial; compensatory damages, which pay for the harm itself, are the heart of most cases.

J&J has also sued doctors who published research linking talc to mesothelioma (our earlier post). On February 27, 2026, a federal judge in New Jersey let J&J go forward with a trade libel claim against Dr. Jacqueline Moline. That ruling let the claim proceed; it was not a finding that she did anything wrong. In August 2026, a federal judge in Virginia ruled for three other doctors (Theresa Emory, Richard Kradin and John Maddox), finding no evidence they knew their paper was false. Neither ruling changes what a person with talc mesothelioma has to prove.

The FDA withdrew its talc testing rule

In December 2024 the FDA proposed a rule requiring makers of talc cosmetics to test for asbestos with set methods (our earlier post). On November 28, 2025, it withdrew that proposal. The Federal Register notice cited technical and scientific issues raised in public comments and the complexity of asbestos testing. It also said the FDA "will issue a proposed rule" to meet its duties under the 2022 cosmetics law (MoCRA). It gave no date.

What it means: There is still no required federal testing method for asbestos in talc cosmetics. That does not affect claims over past use, which rest on testing of the products and on the companies' own records.

The EPA chrysotile ban is still in force

EPA's 2024 rule banning ongoing uses of chrysotile asbestos, the last type still used in the United States, took effect in May 2024 and is in force at 40 CFR 751, Subpart F. In June 2025 EPA said it would reconsider the rule, then dropped that plan in July 2025. Industry groups challenged the rule in the Fifth Circuit (Texas Chemistry Council v. EPA, No. 24-60193). The court heard argument on June 1, 2026. As of this post we have found no decision.

What it means: The ban is about future use. Whatever the court decides, it will not change claims based on past exposure, which is where nearly all of today's asbestos disease comes from. See our chrysotile page and our earlier post on the lawsuits.

Trusts may now destroy old claim records

In early 2025 the W.R. Grace (WRG) asbestos trust, nine other trusts and their claims processing facility told past claimants they would begin destroying the files of claims that had been paid or withdrawn (our earlier post). Companies that defend asbestos suits, including J&J and Dow, sued in Delaware to make the trusts keep the records, and the trusts agreed to wait while the case went on. On July 31, 2026, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed the lower court and ordered the case dismissed. It held that a court cannot order a broad preservation of records like this when the companies did not tie the records to a specific pending or expected case. It later declined to reconsider.

What it means: If one of these trusts paid you or a family member, the trust may not keep that file. Keep your own copies of claim papers and payment letters, and ask your lawyer to keep theirs. Our W.R. Grace trust page explains that trust's claims.

Libby's asbestos clinic has closed

For more than 20 years, the Center for Asbestos Related Disease (CARD) in Libby, Montana, screened and treated people sickened by the town's contaminated vermiculite (our earlier post). In 2023 a federal court found the clinic liable for almost $6 million under the False Claims Act, in a suit brought by BNSF Railway that challenged its diagnoses. In May 2025 the sheriff closed the clinic and seized its property to collect. CARD reopened, but in June 2026 said its federal grant would not be renewed. It closed for good in mid-August 2026, earlier than planned. The CDC has sought a contractor for a new Libby screening program.

What it means: If you were a CARD patient, request a copy of your medical records now. They matter for any claim and for the special Medicare benefit that Libby-area residents with an asbestos diagnosis can get regardless of age. Our Montana page covers Libby and other sites in the state.

Bestwall: the Supreme Court will not step in

In 2017 Georgia-Pacific moved its asbestos liabilities into a new company, Bestwall, and put it into bankruptcy (the "Texas Two-Step"; see our explainer). Victims argued that a company able to pay its debts does not belong in bankruptcy, but in 2025 the Fourth Circuit let the case go on. On June 1, 2026, the Supreme Court declined to review that decision.

In plain terms, the bankruptcy goes on, and so does the court order that has stopped asbestos lawsuits against Georgia-Pacific for years. People hurt by its products, such as its joint compound, must keep waiting.

What it means: If you worked with Georgia-Pacific joint compound, document that exposure now, and know that other companies' products and trusts may also be part of your case. Our joint compound page explains who made it.

New York City released its 9/11 air records

On September 8, 2026, New York City released more than 170,000 pages of records on air quality after the World Trade Center attacks, resolving a public-records lawsuit, and said more would follow over the next year (our earlier post). Reports on the records describe a draft city document that flagged dust samples above asbestos limits in the days after the attacks, while officials kept telling people the air was safe into 2002.

What it means: Mesothelioma can appear decades after exposure. If you worked or lived near Ground Zero, tell your doctor. The federal World Trade Center Health Program lists mesothelioma among its covered conditions. Our firefighters page covers 9/11 responders.

A mesothelioma drug application was withdrawn

Polaris Group had asked the FDA to approve pegargiminase (ADI-PEG 20), given with chemotherapy, for some pleural mesothelioma patients (our earlier post). In May 2026, before any FDA decision, the company withdrew the application, citing business strategy. The drug is not approved in the United States. Patients interested in it can ask their doctors about clinical trials. Our pleural mesothelioma treatment page covers the approved options.