You May be Entitled to Significant Compensation Asbestos/class action. Johnson & Johnson powders were proven to contain asbestos (a cancer causing agent) and the company failed to notify users of the cancer risk. $2 BILLION has already been awarded to claims. Free To File! No Fees Unless A Settlement Is Awarded!

J&J’s proposed settlement with talc would provide $440 million US state AGs. Asbestos/Class Action .

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) has set the amount of $400 million for resolving U.S. state consumer protection actions as part of a larger $8.9 billion effort to settle claims that its Baby Powder and other talc ingredients cause cancer. Asbestos/class action.

J&J affiliate LTL Management filed a bankruptcy plan in New Jersey late on Monday that details how the company plans to pay different kinds of cancer sufferers in the bankruptcy settlement. Asbestos/class action. J&J has claimed that its talc products are safe and do not cause cancer. The company is trying for another time to settle more than 38,000 lawsuits brought in bankruptcy, and to prevent any new cases from arising in the future.
LTL’s bankruptcy plan will pay $400 million to a separate trust for claims filed with state attorneys general claiming that J&J was in violation of the state’s unfair commercial practices and consumer protection laws by misinforming consumers about the dangers of its talc products.

A number of states had already initiated consumer protection actions against J&J prior to the first bankruptcy filing stopped these investigations from progressing in 2021. Asbestos/class action. New Mexico and Mississippi had already brought actions in the past against Johnson & Johnson before then, and the states of Arizona, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas and Washington had issued civil investigative requests or subpoenas in LTL’s court filings.

New Mexico and Mississippi have decided to declare LTL’s bankruptcy unfinished as well as cancer patients and the U.S. Justice Department’s bankruptcy watchdog. have claimed that a lucrative business like J&J can’t benefit from bankruptcy protections aimed at people with debt problems.
The first time LTL attempted to settle the bankruptcy-related lawsuits was thrown out after similar arguments. The U.S. appeals court ruled the LTL wasn’t in “financial trouble” and ineligible of bankruptcy protection. Asbestos/class action. LTL declared bankruptcy a second time in just two hours following that dismissal, arguing that the second bankruptcy was different because it was able to borrow less and had more support for the possibility of settling.

New Mexico and Mississippi said in their motion to dismiss LTL’s bankruptcy renewal violates state law enforcement powers by seeking to unilaterally limit LTL’s liability to state consumer protection laws.

Asbestos/Class Action

The filings of LTL’s latest bankruptcy proceedings also include more information about how the company would assess and settle cancer claims if the bankruptcy plan is approved.

The largest amount of money under the settlement would be $500,000 for those diagnosed with mesothelioma that is terminal before age 45 and $260,000 for those diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer before age 45.

From there, the proposed settlement provides discounts based on the kind and severity of cancer, an individual’s age, history of using talc and other factors. Asbestos/class action. For example, a woman who used talc products weekly, had an ancestral history of ovarian cancer and was diagnosed stage II ovarian cancer when she was 55 may qualify for a $21,125 payout under the settlement plan.

Judge orders J&J and talc opponents discuss settlement negotiations.

After another round of hearings in Johnson &Johnson’s attempt to employ a Texas Two Step bankruptcy strategy to resolve talc litigation and federal bankruptcy judge Michael Kaplan has ordered the firm and the people who opposed the plan to hold negotiations to settle the matter, Bloomberg reports.

With its second bankruptcy attempt for LTL management, a subsidiary founded by J&J to handle the claims company offered a settlement of $8.9 billion. Asbestos/class action. While a firm representing plaintiffs agree with the settlement, a different group is against the settlement.

This week, the opposition group, which is known as”The Official Committee of Talc Claimants requested the bankruptcy court to dismiss the case saying that LTL cannot be regarded as in financial hardship.

“The filing is an incredibly legal and ineffective attempt by a small number of law firms to stop claimants from deciding on the resolution plan – a plan that the overwhelming majority of claimants are in favor of,” J&J’s litigation chief Erik Haas, said in a statement. Asbestos/class action. “The law firms that are behind this filing have financial interests that do not align with, diverge from and infringe on the rights that their customers. We’ll soon submit an answer in the appeals court.”

Asbestos/class action. Clay Thompson, a lawyer for MRHFM that includes more than mesothelioma patients who have filed lawsuits against J&J for bankruptcy, told the company’s second bankruptcy try is likely to fail.

“J&J issues press releases about how wonderful the plan is but simultaneously requesting that details of the plan, such as what individual sick people would actually receive — be kept private,” Thompson said in an email. “What does the company have to hide?”

talcumpowdercancerlawsuit

Kaplan has directed the parties to devise a second restructuring plan, with the oversight of two mediators.

As of February 2022 Kaplan acknowledged J&J’s recourse to Chapter 11 to hasten a settlement that will free the company from the hundreds of thousands of claims concerning its talcum products.

In the month of January, a federal appeals court ruled against the ruling, ruling that the firm could not be considered in “financial trouble.”

The J&J’s plan to challenge the U.S. Supreme Court was turned down the same month, J&J filed for its second bankruptcy two hours after. In response, Kaplan froze the lawsuits for 60 calendar days to decide whether to grant to file for bankruptcy again.

J&J’s unstoppable profit engine sputters after $6.9B cost of litigation involving talc.

Through 2 Chapter 11 attempts, J&J has been able to buy 19 months in which cases have been held. Asbestos/class action. J&J wants the claimants to accept their settlement. J&J will require 75% of the vote for the deal to pass.

In addition to the team of talc lawyers that criticized LTL’s bankruptcy plan and the U.S. Trustee, an arm that is part of the U.S. Department of Justice has also filed an appeal to dismiss the second bankruptcy case of LTL.

In a filing this week, U.S. Trustee Andrew R. Vara wrote that the doors of the bankruptcy court remain “open to honest, but naive debtors.” These doors “are not accessible to those that lack a legitimate bankruptcy objective or seek to use the bankruptcy process to delay or hinder their creditors,” Vara continued.

On the other hand, J&J maintains there is no evidence conclusive that its products containing talc, such as its popular baby powder cause cancer. J&J has taken the products from the market and will first launch them for North America in 2020–and the rest of the world later this year.

J&J is determined to stay clear of the cost of going to court. It has won most of the cases that have been resolved at trial, but some losses have been very punishing.
A highly-publicized trial in Missouri ended in an $4.7 billion verdict against the drug maker and was later lowered to $2.1 billion following appeals.

Johnson & Johnson faces high-stakes hearing over ‘Texas Two Step’ talc strategy: report
In all, J&J has lost nine trial involving talc that are appealing or concluded. In 41 trials 32 of them ended in winning for J&J either through a mistrial or plaintiff verdict that was overturned in appeal. Asbestos/class action. In addition, J&J in 2020 moved to settle more than 1000 cases at a cost of the sum of $100 million. Bloomberg announced at that time.

Talcum Baby Powder Ovarian Cancer Lawsuit – Asbestos/Class Action

Our lawyers are handling baby powder lawsuits in every state. The talcum powder lawsuits on behalf of Johnson & Johnson have been in the process for several years. Asbestos/class action. The lawsuits allege that prolonged use of talcum powder (or “talc”), the active ingredient in products such as the Baby Powder along with Shower to Shower and Shower to Shower, could cause cancer of the ovary in certain women.

This article provides the J&J Talc Power litigation update and examines how the coming bankruptcy ruling affects the final settlement amounts of the cases of ovarian cancer.

Has the deadline passed for you to bring a talcum lawsuit? Many who believe that the statute of limitations has passed to sue Johnson & Johnson are wrong. Call us now at 800-553-2082 or get a free and quick case review online.

Johnson and Johnson Talcum Powder Lawsuit Update 2023 – Asbestos/Class Action

June 2 2023 Update: At the asbestos talc case in California yesterday, a few technical issues interrupted the opening statements of the defense lawyers. Asbestos/class action. Jurors watching at home via Zoom, did hear Johnson &Johnson’s lawyer express doubt about the science of the 70s that claimed asbestos was present in their product, but the session abruptly ended.

The plaintiff could present the first of their witnesses, Arthur Langer. Langer stated that the presence of other minerals in talc is expected. He claimed that his group was notified by J&J in the year 1971 about the presence of chrysotile asbestos in the company’s talc, albeit in less than 0.1 percent. The asbestos was discovered by him in the year 1976.

June 1st, 2023 Update Asbestos/class action. The first trial since J&J has decided to separate its Talc section and declaring bankruptcy is an important moment within the ongoing litigation controversy. Trial began yesterday in the tragic case of a young 24 year-old plaintiff, diagnosed with a rare and aggressive type of mesothelioma last year, which both sides believe is a harrowing tragedy.

Opening statements laid bare distinct differences between each side’s story. The attorney representing the plaintiff aimed his ire towards Johnson & Johnson, alleging the use of deceptive strategies in its research practices as well as throughout the litigation procedure. As per the lawyer, Johnson & Johnson attempted to alter the definition of asbestos, despite internal documents dating back to between 1978 and 1994 that showed asbestos fibers found in tissue of the plaintiffs are included.

Johnson &J’s tangled $8.9 billion settlement offer hangs in the balance as we development of the trial. Despite the distinct nature of this mesothelioma-related case and its distinct issues compared to other lawsuits involving talcum powder A verdict in favor of the plaintiff could inflict the company with a major setback in its hopes of broad acceptance of their settlement proposal among plaintiffs.

May 31st, 2023: Update from Johnson and Johnson’s bankrupt talc unit strongly defended it’s two-time Chapter 11 filing in the facing challenges from victims of talc injuries. In an appeal to the New Jersey bankruptcy court, the subsidiary argued that the filing was fundamentally different from the prior filing. It emphasized the unprecedented commitment to $8.9 billion to J&J which is the largest ever settlement in any bankruptcy case that involves mass tort. Asbestos/class action. There was no mention of how the amount of the settlement signifies that it’s a fair settlement. J&J also claimed that it received support from several plaintiffs’ legal firms representing more than 600,00 claimants. It is difficult to confirm but is probably incorrect.

May 24, 2023 Update: Since Johnson & Johnson’s 2021 bankruptcy filing, the very first trial involving its cosmetic talc products that are believed to with asbestos content is scheduled to commence jury selection on Monday, California at Alameda County Superior Court, which is a well-known location for plaintiffs. The plaintiff claims his mesothelioma is the result of asbestos exposure in J&J’s product and that the company does not deny. The trial also involves six retailers accused of selling talc-containing products.

May 22, 2023 Update: Lawyers involved in the second J&J Talc bankruptcy are currently in a dispute over who should be chosen to fill the role of the claims representative in the future, an important role essential to the resolution of the talc claims. Asbestos/class action. Randi Ellis, a lawyer who regularly appears in MDLs throughout the United States, was appointed as the claims representative in the previous bankruptcy. J&J’s defense team wants Ellis to be appointed in that position in the future, however lawyers representing the talc plaintiffs have raised objections on the grounds that Ellis has conflicts of interest which should stop her from assuming that position again. The conflict stems from the issue that Ellis was believed to have been involved in drafting the hotly contested second bankruptcy, which raises questions regarding her capacity to remain neutral. However, the reality is that this bankruptcy could be dismissed in the end.

May 17, 2023 Update The pretend company that J&J created for the talc litigation bankruptcy informed an New Jersey bankruptcy court that they have set aside $400 million to settle claims made by states accusing the company of deceptive advertising for its talc products. Asbestos/class action. That’s an $8.5 billion settlement for cancer victims. It’s difficult to imagine a scenario where J&J can get these settlements for babies given these numbers. While J&J’s proposed $8.5 billion offer might seem like a huge sum initially, it may not look good when you consider the math. The proposed settlement based on our rough calculations, would not provide victims with much more than a median settlement of $100,000 per case. This isn’t enough.

May 15th, 2023 Update J&J is potentially facing a lawsuit by an advocacy group that represents cancer victims. Asbestos/class action. The group contends that J&J deliberately retracted an $61.5 billion financing agreement in conjunction with its affiliate, LTL Management LLC, to simulate financial distress and validate the unit’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The group claims that this move is equivalent to a fraudulent transfer of rights of victims’ compensation. They will investigate J&J’s actions after the announcement of the denial of the first bankruptcy case of LTL.

May 10 2023 Update: The following week in next week, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey will hear oral arguments on a petition to dismiss the second bankruptcy filing by J&J company LTL Management. However, in the meantime, it has approved an Order calling for both parties to participate in a new settlement mediation hoping that an international settlement agreement can be brokered.

May 5th, 2023 Update: The talc manufacturer Whittaker, Clark & Daniels filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to many lawsuits claiming that its talc products cause cancer due to asbestos exposure. Asbestos/class action. More than 2700 people have filed lawsuits against the firm and the company was spending $1 million a month to defend itself. The company’s most recent $29 million settlement that was handed down in South Carolina forced it to apply for bankruptcy protection and argue for equitable distribution of assets to talc claimants, rather than being confiscated in the hands of the receiver. Other talc suppliers have also filed for bankruptcy due to litigation.

May 4 2023 Update U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan has directed Johnson & Johnson to resume talks on settlement with lawyers who turned down the proposed $8.9 billion settlement offer. The court in Trenton, New Jersey yesterday the parties appeared before a judge to discuss the next steps for the second bankruptcy case. Judge Kaplan encouraged further settlement talks.

This is the best way to settle these claims for J&J. The baby powder settlement is likely to be completed. Asbestos/class action. But it will require more money – billions of dollars from Johnson & Johnson.

Lawyers are divided on whether or not to accept the plan and not all clients see the issue the same way their attorney does. A second bankruptcy proceeding is likely to fail, with Judge Kaplan has scheduled a hearing in June to decide whether to discharge the bankruptcy for the 2nd time.

May 3, 2023 Update A group of cancer victims suing Johnson & Johnson (J&J) requested to have the Third Circuit halt the bankruptcy filed by J&J subsidiary LTL Management, claiming it attempts to block litigation regarding talc-related products. The group representing the claimants submitted a motion on Tuesday, asking that the Third Circuit to consider their case and to send it back to a lower court, with instructions to dismiss the bankruptcy. Asbestos/class action. They also asked that the stopped tort litigation against J&J continue to continue.
LTL filed for Chapter 11 protection once again following the bankruptcy filing it made earlier was denied in the Third Circuit earlier this year and offered a $8.9 billion agreement. The committee argues that the recent ruling which allowed LTL’s third Chapter 11 to continue, and also stopping trials against J&J and J&J, requires urgent Third Circuit review. The US Trustee requested the New Jersey bankruptcy court dismiss the LTL bankruptcy case. J&J’s worldwide vice president of litigation Erik Haas, was quoted by Bloomberg declaring that J&J plans to file a statement to the appeals court characterizing the filing as an “desperate and legally inadequate effort” by a small number of law firms with conflicts of financial interests.
May 1st 2023 Update: A most frequently asked question is how plaintiffs and their attorneys turn around $8.9 billion. Of course, that’s a lot of money. However, there are lots of victims. Asbestos/class action. They are a great cases for plaintiffs. We were reminded recently by two talc-related trials that ended in large verdicts for plaintiffs. In February, a talcum powder mesothelioma trial in Oregon led to the verdict of $18.1 million. The following month, a second talc mesothelioma case went to trials on the other side of South Carolina and resulted in the verdict of $29 million in favor of plaintiff. Both cases were defended by Whittaker, Clark & Daniels Inc., one of the most prominent suppliers of talc within the U.S.
April 30 2023 Update: J&J initially attempted to pull the lawsuit over talcum powder into bankruptcy, they came with an offer to set aside $2 billion for settlements. The amount was absurdly low. All of the talc plaintiffs were in favor of the proposal. This time, however, J&J has increased the offer to $8.9 for talc-related plaintiffs if they agree to a bankruptcy settlement and they also have the support of a substantial portion of the talc plaintiffs and their attorneys. Asbestos/class action. But 75% of the plaintiffs who are a talc, which is needed for approval of the bankruptcy plan It’s a long and difficult process since there are so many lawyers with vast inventory of baby powder-related lawsuits, opposed against the proposed settlement.

What is the solution to this impasse? More billions.
April 25, 2023 Update: Talc plaintiffs have asked a judge to dismiss their Chapter 11 case filed by LTL Management LLC, a ridiculously made-up Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, saying the company is not financially strained. LTL applied for Chapter 11 to settle tens of thousands of claims that J&J’s baby powders cause cancer. Asbestos/class action. The 3rd Circuit dismissed its first Chapter 11 case in January The court ruled that the company was not eligible for bankruptcy relief as it had not demonstrated financial difficulties.

The claimants contend that LTL’s third Chapter 11 case is an overreach of the bankruptcy system and that the case is being handled in bad faith. J&J asserts that the bankruptcy settlement receives “significant support” from the firms that represent about 60,000 potential claimants. It is fair to say that plaintiffs’ lawyers and the victims are split over their disagreement over the $8.9 billion settlement offer.

April 21st, 2023 Update: A bankruptcy judge ruled the company Johnson & Johnson must face new lawsuits alleging that the company sold baby powder that was contaminated and causing cancer. Although the trials for the lawsuits involving talc are delayed for at least 60 days, new lawsuits can be filed, and lawyers will begin preparing their cases. Asbestos/class action. Judges expressed doubt about J&J’s absurd attempt to revive its plan with the second bankruptcy case.

April 13th, 2023 Update: most important story is that there’s an $8.9 billion over 25 years settlement offer. Lawyers representing cancer patients in the MDL collective action pledged to fight the settlement along with the talc claimants. Why? They believe it’s not enough money for 70,000 victims who have cancer. Asbestos/class action. These lawyers believe that J&J should negotiate a bigger settlement or pursue individual claims in the event that the latest bankruptcy is dismissed.

But there is another lawyer group that isn’t part of the leadership in the class action. The lawyers collectively have accumulated many thousands of cases. The group is seeking to settle with what they believe is less than these victims deserve. Their argument appears to be two-fold. First, they argue the settlement – about the equivalent of $100,000 per plaintiff is fair.

It’s a difficult argument to make. But their second argument has more teeth: victims can now not wait and they want the money immediately.

April 12, 2023 Update: People are wondering if J&J could file for bankruptcy again. The answer is complicated and convoluted. Let’s try to clarify it simply.
Johnson & Johnson asserts that bankruptcy is the only option to address both present and future lawsuits involving talc conclusively. In other words, it believes it can pay less if there is an element of bankruptcy that puts pressure for a settlement. Asbestos/class action. Moving past 400 years of American history, the firm argues that bankruptcy benefits all parties by distributing settlements more equally and effectively than trial courts, where litigants are awarded significant payouts, while others are left with nothing.

The gist in the 3rd Circuit decision was this is not a matter of the profit-making company that has an entity to assume the legal responsibility and declare bankruptcy – Congress thought of when drafting its Bankruptcy Code. But it also said it was not financially trouble due to the fact that J&J promised unlimited funding.
This is why J&J jumped on the unlimited funding aspect of the contract and didn’t promise that it would provide unlimited funds for cases. The company says that its revised financing arrangements with its subsidiary address the concerns of the appellate court, while offering claim payment funds. As if offering victims less money would solve the underlying issue.

Attorneys representing cancer victims who oppose the agreement counter the agreement with what is a defense against legal nonsense by pointing out legal absurdity: J&J fraudulently transferred $50 billion in assets to LTL Management to circumvent the appeals court’s earlier ruling. The hyperbole wasn’t spared: victims’ lawyers call it the biggest “fraudulent transfer of assets in United States history.”

Notwithstanding the legal mumbo jumbo, J&J does not really believe this bankruptcy will be able to last. But it’s a way of trying to push this $8.9 billion settlement, and to keep the pressure on plaintiffs.

April 10, 2023, Update Bloomberg provides an insightful article on a new law within New Jersey that is shedding new light on the funding of litigation in the baby powder plaintiffs in the class action. Litigation funders Virage Capital Management and TRGP Capital invested in hundreds of claims against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) over talc products in exchange for a percentage of any settlements. J&J has now offered an offer of $8.9 billion to settle all lawsuits.

The involvement of funders is public information because of a New Jersey court rule requiring the release of certain details regarding outside funding backers. The law is designed to tackle the growing demands for regulation of litigation funders. J&J has to deal with more than 60,000 lawsuits when you include state and federal baby powder lawsuits. Third-party funding for mass tort lawsuits has its pros and pros and. However, there is no doubt that we are seeing how third-party funding could level the playing field between individuals and large corporations in court.

April 4, 2023 Update: It is pleasing to see the worm turning in this legal battle. J&J suffered another setback this week when an appeals court in the Third Circuit denied J&J’s request to extend the automatic stay as J&J appeals an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court. Automatic stays have frozen the cases of talcum powder in a number of years and stopped any new lawsuits from getting filed ever since J&J initiated the controversial effort to spin the talc liability into a bankrupt subsidiary more than one year earlier. Asbestos/class action. When the 3rd Circuit ruled that this bankruptcy was insufficient a few months ago, the stay was lifted. J&J was hoping to have it continued pending an appeal to the SCOTUS appeal. But, no.
April 1st, 2023 Update Johnson & Johnson announced it will appeal its 3rd Circuit bankruptcy loss to the U.S. Supreme Court last week. The chance is that the Supreme Court is willing even to consider the appeal? Low.
March 16th, 2023 Update: with the bankruptcy stay now in effect, the first new cases were filed and incorporated into the Talcum Powder class action MDL within a year. Seven new talc lawsuits were brought into the MDL during the month of March which brings the total number of cases in the pending process up to 37,522.

February 25, 2023 Update: A Congressmen from Tennessee is now calling for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) begin an investigation into the amount J&J products containing talc have cost the government over the many years.
Recently, in an open letter to the GAO, Rep. Steven Cohen (D-Ten.) has accused J&J of not recognizing the risks of its talc products over decades while tax dollars were used to treat those who were injured through exposure to the product. The demand comes just weeks after J&J’s significant loss in the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.

Asbestos/class action. J&J should begin to make reasonable settlement proposals to victims, in order in putting this behind it. This is a blemish on one of the world’s greatest firms.

February 14 2023 Update: At the hearing held today in New Jersey, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan announced his intention following the ruling of 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling to dismiss the bankruptcy case.