Lawyers for talc claimants filed a motion on Tuesday in a New Jersey court, seeking to prevent a planned third J&J bankruptcy from being filed in Texas or any other jurisdiction outside New Jersey.
The move comes just weeks after Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary LLT Management submitted a new plan called “Plan of Reorganization” to pay ovarian cancer claimants around $6.48 billion over 25 years to resolve 99.75% of its U.S.-based talc lawsuits. The blanket settlement would cover more than 50,000 lawsuits alleging that the use of its widely-used talc baby powder led to claimants developing ovarian cancer.
According to the court filing, the group of cancer victims contends they will suffer “irreparable harm” if J & J is allowed to move forward with its bankruptcy, which calls for claimants to vote on a $6.48 billion settlement offer.
The pharmaceutical giant has set the voting deadline on its new settlement for July 26 and hopes to receive support from 75% of claimants as part of the encompassing bankruptcy plan.
“This is yet another meritless pleading by the same small group of plaintiff law firms who have fought every single effort to resolve this litigation to date,” Erik Haas, J&J’s worldwide vice president of litigation, said in a statement.
Haas has repeatedly contended that opposing plaintiffs’ lawyers are putting their economic interests before that of their clients, and merely holding out for additional fees unavailable in bankruptcy.
Legal representatives for claimants counter that statement and feel the blanket settlement is not in the best interest of claimants or their families.
They believe the lawsuit payout is grossly inadequate, coming out to a mere 43K per case before liens and attorney fees. Claimants would likely forfeit their rights to future litigation once they accept the offer.
Mesothelioma Not Covered Under J&J’s Settlement
Cases not covered under this plan include personal injury claims that J&J’s cosmetic talc products caused an aggressive form of cancer called mesothelioma, which forms around the lungs and is associated with asbestos exposure. In a press release, J&J claims it has already resolved 95% of mesothelioma lawsuits filed and plans to address the remaining claims outside of its new reorganization plan.
J&J Continues to maintain the safety of its talc, alleging it’s asbestos-free and does not cause cancer. The company feels its proposed bankruptcy settlement offers a more fair and equitable share for claimants, who may not see their day in court or walk away with nothing.
Texas Two-step Failure
The healthcare conglomerate has failed twice to execute a Texas two-step bankruptcy maneuver aimed at ending current and future talc lawsuits.
In 2021, J&J created a subsidiary called LTL Management to assume all its talc liability. LTL then sought bankruptcy protection in the Lone Star State in a move nicknamed the “Texas Two-Step.”
Following its first bankruptcy failure, J&J announced it was lowering its previous $61.5 billion settlement agreement to $29.9 billion. According to the class action complaint, LTL did not receive an equivalent value.
J&J’s $700M settlement over talc product marketing
The company recently finalized a separate $700 million settlement of an investigation by 42 states and Washington, D.C., into the marketing of its talc-based products linked to causing cancer.
Under the settlement announced June 11, J&J resolved charges that it misled consumers for decades into believing its talc powders were safe. New Jersey will receive just over $30.2 million as part of the resolution, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said.
