A federal judge in New Jersey has ordered a new round of briefing on expert evidence in the Johnson & Johnson talcum powder multidistrict litigation, citing amendments to the federal rule and the passage of time.

U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp took over the talc docket last year after the retirement of U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson. Wolfson, in 2020, gave plaintiffs’ lawyers a big victory by allowing five of their general causation experts to testify in upcoming bellwether trials alleging Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder caused ovarian cancer.