Oct 15 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) must pay

$15 million to a Connecticut man who alleges that he developed

mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, as a result of using the

company's talc powder for decades, a jury found on Tuesday.

Plaintiff Evan Plotkin sued the company in 2021 soon after

his diagnosis, saying he was sickened by inhaling J&J's baby

powder.

The jury in Fairfield County, Connecticut Superior Court

also found that the company should pay additional punitive

damages, though the amount has not yet been determined.

Erik Haas, J&J's worldwide vice president of litigation,

said in a statement that the company would appeal "erroneous"

rulings by the trial judge that kept the jury from hearing

critical facts about the case.

"Those facts show that the verdict is irreconcilable with

the decades of independent scientific evaluations confirming

talc is safe, does not contain asbestos and does not cause

cancer," Haas said.

A lawyer for Plotkin did not immediately respond to a

request for comment.

Tuesday's verdict comes as J&J seeks to resolve claims by

more than 62,000 people who say that they got ovarian and other

gynecological cancers from talc through a nearly $9 billion

settlement in bankruptcy.

The bankruptcy deal, which faces legal challenges from some

plaintiffs' lawyers, has put the lawsuits over gynecological

cancers on hold, but does not affect the much smaller number of

mesothelioma claims like Plotkin's. The company has previously

settled some of those claims but has not proposed a nationwide

settlement.

Plaintiffs in all of the lawsuits say that J&J's talc

products, like its once iconic baby powder, were tainted with

asbestos, a carcinogen known to cause mesothelioma and other

cancers.

J&J withdrew its talc-based powder products from the U.S.

market in 2020.

Reuters watched the verdict announcement through Courtroom

View Network.