You May be Entitled to Significant Compensation Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. 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 make payments of 400 million dollars to US state AGs. Exposure To Asbestos Lawsuit .
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) has put aside $400 million to settle U.S. state consumer protection actions as part of its broad $8.9 billion deal to settle allegations that it’s Baby Powder as well as other talc product causes cancer. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit.
J&J affiliate LTL Management filed a bankruptcy plan in New Jersey late on Monday that describes how the company plans to pay different kinds of cancer sufferers in an arrangement for bankruptcy. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. J&J has declared that its Talc products are safe, and do not cause cancer. J&J is seeking the second time to end more than 38,000 lawsuits in bankruptcy and stop new cases from arising in the future.
LTL’s bankruptcy plan would pay $400 million to a separate trust for claims filed with state attorneys general alleging that J&J violated states’ unfair practices as well as consumer protection laws by misinforming consumers regarding the safety of its talc products.
Several states had begun consumer protection actions against J&J prior to the first bankruptcy filing stopped these investigations from moving forward in 2021. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. New Mexico and Mississippi had already initiated suits against Johnson & Johnson before then, and the states of Arizona, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas and Washington had issued civil investigative demands or subpoenas in LTL’s court filings.
New Mexico and Mississippi have filed a petition to end LTL’s bankruptcy in a joint move with cancer victims and The U.S. Justice Department’s watchdog on bankruptcy, who have claimed that a lucrative business like J&J cannot benefit from bankruptcy protections meant for struggling debtors.
The first time LTL attempted to settle the bankruptcy-related lawsuits was dismissed following similar arguments, when a U.S. appellate court ruled the LTL had not been in “financial financial distress” and ineligible under bankruptcy law. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. LTL filed a second bankruptcy less than two hours after that dismissal, arguing that the second bankruptcy was different due to the fact that it had less money and had a greater chance of securing a settlement.
New Mexico and Mississippi said in their motion to dismiss LTL’s renewed bankruptcy violates state law enforcement authorities by seeking to unilaterally limit the company’s liability for state consumer protection measures.
Exposure To Asbestos Lawsuit
LTL’s filings for the new year also contained additional details about the way in which the company will evaluate and pay for cancer claims if the bankruptcy plan is approved.
The highest payments under the settlement will be $500,000 for patients diagnosed with terminal mesothelioma before age 45 and $260,000 for people diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer prior to age 45.
The proposed settlement applies discounts depending on the nature and severity of cancer, the individual’s years of age, their history of talc use and other factors. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. For example someone who regularly used talc products on a weekly basis, who had a family history of ovarian cancer and was diagnosed the stage 2 ovarian cancer at age 55 might qualify for a $21,125 payout under the plan.
Judge gives order to J&J and talc opponents to take part in settlement talks.
After another round of hearings in Johnson &Johnson’s attempt to utilize a Texas Two-Step bankruptcy strategy for talc litigation, federal bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan has ordered the company and those opposed to the strategy to engage in settlement talks, Bloomberg reports.
With its second bankruptcy bid for LTL Management, a subsidiary set up by J&J to settle claims – the company proposed a settlement of $8.9 billion. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. While one firm representing plaintiffs is in favor of the settlement, a different group opposes the deal.
This week, the opposition group, dubbed”the Official Committee of Talc Claimants in the bankruptcy court, demanded to dismiss the case argument that LTL can not be considered financially distressed.
“The filing is an unjust and legally flawed attempt by a handful of law firms to try to stop claimants from deciding on the resolution plan, a plan that the vast majority of claimants are in favor of,” J&J’s litigation chief Erik Haas, said in an announcement. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. “The law firms involved in their filing are financially oriented and have conflicts that conflict with, differ from and infringe on the rights they represent. We will be submitting a response before the court of appeals.”
Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. Clay Thompson, a lawyer for MRHFM which has more than 80 mesothelioma victims who have filed lawsuits against J&J and J&J, has said that the second bankruptcy attempt of J&J will fail.
“J&J issue press releases describing how fantastic its plan is while simultaneously requesting that details of the plan, such as what individual sick people would actually receive — be kept private,” Thompson said in a statement. “What do J&J have to cover up?”
Kaplan has instructed the sides to develop a new reorganization plan, under the supervision from two mediators.
The court in February of 2022 Kaplan confirmed J&J’s recourse to Chapter 11 to hasten a settlement that would free the company from the hundreds of thousands of claims concerning its talcum products.
In January of this year, an appeals court of the federal government overturned the verdict, ruling that the business could not be considered to be in “financial distress.”
The J&J’s plan to contest the U.S. Supreme Court was turned down in April, J&J declared bankruptcy just two hours after. In response, Kaplan froze the lawsuits for 60 days in order to determine whether or not to accept to file for bankruptcy again.
J&J’s unstoppable profit engine sputters after $6.9B the talc litigation cost.
With the Two Chapter 11 attempts, J&J has bought 19 months during which the cases were held. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. The company wants claimants to accept their settlement. J&J requires 75% acceptance for the settlement to be approved.
Alongside the group of talc lawyers who panned the bankruptcy of the company and the U.S. Trustee is an arm from the U.S. Department of Justice has also filed a motion to dismiss LTL’s second bankruptcy case.
In a filing this week, U.S. trustee Andrew R. Vara wrote that the bankruptcy are “open to honest, but naive debtors.” Those doors “are not accessible to those that do not have a legitimate objective or seek to abuse the bankruptcy process to delay or hinder their creditors.” Vara continued.
For its part, J&J maintains there is no evidence conclusive that its Talc products, which includes its famous baby powder, cause cancer. J&J has adopted the products of the market–first on North America in 2020–and the rest of the world next year.
J&J seeks to avoid the expense of going to trial. It has won the majority of cases that have been decided during trial, however, some losses have been very harsh.
A well-known trial in Missouri resulted in an $4.7 billion verdict against the drugmaker but was later reduced to $2.1 billion following appeals.
Johnson & Johnson faces high-stakes hearing over ‘Texas Two Step’ talc strategy: report
Overall, J&J has lost nine talc trials that are either in appeal or decided. Out of 41 trials 32 have resulted in an outcome for J&J, a mistrial or verdict for a plaintiff that was dismissed after appeal. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. Additionally, the company has announced plans to settle more than 1000 cases at a cost of $110 million. Bloomberg announced at that time.
Talcum Baby Powder Ovarian Cancer Lawsuit – Exposure To Asbestos Lawsuit
Our lawyers are handling baby powder lawsuits in all 50 states. The lawsuits involving talcum powder for Johnson & Johnson have been ongoing for years. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. The lawsuits contend that the prolonged use of the powder (or “talc”), the active ingredient in many products, including Baby Powder and Shower to Shower, can cause ovarian cancer among some women.
This article provides the J&J update on the talc power litigation and provides an overview of how the upcoming bankruptcy ruling impacts the ultimate settlement amounts of these cases of ovarian cancer.
Did the deadline expire for you to bring a talcum lawsuit? Many who believe the time limit has expired to sue Johnson & Johnson are wrong. Call us today at 800-553-8082 or request a free and quick case review online.
Johnson and Johnson Talcum Powder Lawsuit Update 2023 – Exposure To Asbestos Lawsuit
June 2 2023 Update: In the asbestos talc trial in California yesterday, some technical glitches interrupted the opening statement by the defense lawyers. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. Jurors watching from their homes via Zoom, did hear Johnson and Johnson’s lawyer express doubts about the 70s research affirming the presence of asbestos in their product, but the trial was abruptly closed.
Meanwhile, the plaintiff had the opportunity to introduce its first expert witness Arthur Langer. Langer explained that the occurrence of other minerals in talc is expected. He claimed that his group had notified J&J in 1971 about the presence of asbestos chrysotile in the talc manufactured by the company, though at just 0.1 percent. The asbestos was discovered by him in 1976.
June 1st, 2023 Update Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. This is the first court trial that has taken place since J&J has decided to separate its Talc segment and file for bankruptcy marks an important turning point for the ongoing lawsuit saga. The trial started yesterday in the harrowing trial of a young plaintiff who was diagnosed with an aggressive and rare form of mesothelioma last year, a diagnosis lawyers on both sides acknowledge is a tragic loss.
Opening statements laid bare stark differences in each side’s narrative. The attorney for the plaintiff took aim towards Johnson & Johnson, alleging the use of deceptive strategies in its research practices as well as throughout the litigation process. As per the lawyer the company attempted to manipulate the definition of asbestos, in spite of internal documents from 1998 and 1994 that show asbestos fibers in the tissues of the plaintiff are part of.
Johnson &J’s highly uncertain $8.9 billion settlement offer hangs in the balance as we course of this trial. Despite the unique nature of this mesothelioma lawsuit and its distinctive issues in comparison to most talcum powder lawsuits and a decision in favor of the plaintiff could result in an unintended setback to Johnson & J’s hopes for broad acceptance of the settlement they have proposed among plaintiffs.
May 31 2023 Update: Johnson & Johnson’s bankrupt talc division strongly defended the 2nd Chapter 11 filing in the face of challenges from victims of talc injuries. In a written objection to the New Jersey bankruptcy court, it argued that the filing differed fundamentally from the earlier filing. It highlighted the extraordinary commitment to $8.9 billion to J&J, the largest settlement ever made in any bankruptcy case that involves mass tort. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. There was no mention of how the amount of the settlement signifies that it’s an equitable settlement. J&J also claimed that it received support from various plaintiffs’ law firms that represent over sixty thousand claimants. This is not easy to confirm but it’s likely to be false.
May 24 2023 Update: In the wake of Johnson & Johnson’s bankruptcy in 2021 filing, the first trial regarding the cosmetic talc products it claims to with asbestos content is scheduled to begin jury selection on Monday, May 24, California at Alameda County Superior Court, an historically reliable jurisdiction for plaintiffs. The plaintiff claims his mesothelioma is the result of asbestos exposure in J&J’s product, an allegation the company does not deny. The trial also includes six retailers accused of selling talc-containing products.
May 22, 2023 Update: Lawyers involved in the second J&J Talc bankruptcy are fighting over who should be chosen to fill the role of a future claims representative. This is which is vitally critical to resolving claims involving talc. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. Randi Ellis, a lawyer who frequently appears in MDLs throughout the country was appointed as the claims representative in the initial 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 because Ellis has conflicts of interest that should prevent her from taking on that role in the future. The issue stems from the reality that Ellis was believed to have been involved in the drafting of the highly contesting second bankruptcy, raising doubts about her capability to remain neutral. It’s true that this bankruptcy is likely to be dismissed regardless.
May 17, 2023 Update The pretend company that J&J created for the talc bankruptcy informed the New Jersey bankruptcy court that they had allocated $400 million to settle the claims of states that accuse the company of deceptive advertising for its talc product. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. This amounts to an $8.5 billion settlement to cancer victims. It’s difficult to imagine the scenario in which J&J could push these baby powder settlements through at these numbers. While J&J’s $8.5 billion offer may seem like a huge sum initially, it may not appear appealing when you consider the math. The proposed settlement based on our rough calculations, would not pay victims much more than $100,000 per instance. That is not enough.
May 15, 2023, Update J&J is potentially facing a lawsuit brought by an advocacy group that represents cancer patients. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. The group claims that J&J deliberately retracted the $61.5 billion funding agreement that it had with its company subsidiary LTL Management LLC, in order to create a false sense of financial distress and verify the unit’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The group claims this decision amounts to a fraudulent transfer of the victims’ compensation rights. They intend to investigate J&J’s actions following of the dismissal of LTL’s first bankruptcy suit.
May 10 2023 Update: Next week next week, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey will hear oral arguments regarding a motion to dismiss the second bankruptcy application of J&J subsidiary LTL Management. In the meantime, however it has approved an Order which requires both sides to participate in a second settlement mediation hoping that an international settlement agreement can be come to fruition.
May 5th 2023 Update: The talc producer Whittaker, Clark & Daniels filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to many lawsuits claiming that its talc products caused cancer through asbestos exposure. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. Over 2700 people have sued the company and the company was paying $1 million per month to defend its legal position. The company’s recent $29 million verdict on the state of South Carolina forced it to apply for bankruptcy protection and argue for a fair distribution of assets among talc claimants instead of being taken through the receiver. Other talc suppliers have also been forced to file for bankruptcy as a result of legal proceedings.
May 4, 2023 update: U.S. Court of Bankruptcy Michael Kaplan has directed Johnson & Johnson to reopen negotiations with lawyers who rebuffed the company’s proposed $8.9 billion deal. At Trenton, New Jersey yesterday, the parties appeared in court to discuss next steps in another bankruptcy proceeding and Judge Kaplan pushed more settlement talks.
This is the best way to settle these claims for J&J. A baby powder settlement could get done. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. However, it will require more money – more billions of dollars by Johnson & Johnson.
Lawyers are split on whether to accept the proposal and not every client views the issue in the same manner their lawyer views it. Second bankruptcy cases are expected to fail as Judge Kaplan has scheduled a hearing for June to determine if she will remove the bankruptcy after the second.
May 3, 2023 Update A group of cancer victims who are suing Johnson & Johnson (J&J) demanded that J&J’s Third Circuit halt the bankruptcy filed by J&J subsidiary LTL Management, claiming it attempts to block litigation over talc products. The group representing claimants for talc has filed a motion this week requesting the Third Circuit to consider their appeal and return the case an earlier court, with instructions to dismiss the bankruptcy. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. The committee also requested that the lawsuit against the halted torts of J&J allow the litigation to continue.
LTL applied for Chapter 11 protection once again following its bankruptcy filing that was rejected in the Third Circuit earlier this year, offering a $8.9 billion agreement. The committee argues that the recent decision allowing LTL’s third Chapter 11 to continue, and also stopping trials against J&J should be subject to the immediate Third Circuit review. The US Trustee requested the New Jersey bankruptcy court dismiss the LTL bankruptcy case. J&J’s global vice-president of litigation Erik Haas, was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that J&J plans to file a reply in the appeals court characterizing the filing as a “desperate and legally deficient attempt” by a handful of law firms with different financial interests.
May 1 2023 Update: A most frequently asked question is how plaintiffs and their lawyers turn around $8.9 billion. That’s of course an enormous amount of money. There are a lot of victims. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. These are an excellent claims for plaintiffs. We were reminded of this recently by two talc-related trials that have resulted in huge verdicts for the plaintiffs. In February, a talcum powder mesothelioma trial in Oregon resulted in a verdict of $18.1 million. In the same month, a different talc mesothelioma case went to trial at South Carolina and resulted in an award of $29 million for the plaintiff. In both instances, the defendant was Whittaker, Clark & Daniels Inc. One of the largest suppliers of talc within the U.S.
April 30 2023 Update: In the year 2023, when J&J initially tried to take the talcum powder lawsuit into bankruptcy, it did so with an offer to put aside $2 billion to settle the case. This was an absurdly low amount. The talc plaintiffs had not believed in the offer. This time, J&J has increased the offer to $8.9 if the talc plaintiffs accept a bankruptcy settlement and also has the support of a large segment of the talc plaintiffs as well as their lawyers. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. However, 75% of talc plaintiffs, which is required for bankruptcy plan approval is a difficult road because of the number of lawyers who have vast inventories of baby powder litigations opposed in favor of the deal.
What is the solution to this impasse? More billions.
April 25, 2023 update: Talc patients have requested a judge to dismiss their Chapter 11 case filed by LTL Management LLC, a absurdly made-up Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, saying the company is not financially strained. LTL has filed for Chapter 11 to settle tens of thousands of claims that J&J’s baby-powders caused cancer. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. It was the 3rd Circuit dismissed its first Chapter 11 case in January in a ruling that said LTL was not eligible for bankruptcy relief as it failed to show financial trouble.
The claimants argue that the second Chapter 11 case is an abuse of the bankruptcy system and it is being pursued in bad faith. J&J says the bankruptcy settlement is backed by “significant support” from firms representing around 60,000 plaintiffs. It’s fair to say that plaintiffs’ lawyers and victims ‘ lawyers are divided on what they believe is an $8.9 billion amount of settlement offered.
April 21st, 2023 Update: A bankruptcy judge decided the company Johnson & Johnson must face new lawsuits claiming that the company offered a baby powder with a contaminant that caused cancer. Even though trials for the talc lawsuits have been suspended for at least 60 days, new lawsuits can be filed and lawyers may begin to prepare their cases. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. The judge expressed his doubts about J&J’s attempt to revive its plan with a second bankruptcy trial.
April 13th, 2023 Update: big update is about the $8.9 billion over 25 years of settlement. Lawyers representing cancer victims who are part of the MDL class action have pledged to fight the settlement alongside Talc claimants. Why? They believe it’s not enough for more than 70,000 cancer victims. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. They argue that J&J should negotiate a bigger settlement or pursue individuals’ claims if the current bankruptcy is declared unconstitutional.
But there is another lawyer group that isn’t part of the leadership of group action. The lawyers collectively have accumulated hundreds of thousands of cases. This group wants to settle the case now for what is believed to be less than the victims deserve. The argument they make is twofold. The first is that they claim the settlement, which is about 100 million dollars on average per plaintiff is fair.
That is a hard argument to prove. But their second argument has more force: victims should be no longer patient and demand to get their money right now.
April 12 2023 Update: Many are seeking out how J&J is able to file for bankruptcy again. The answer is complex and confusing. But let’s try to explain it simply.
Johnson & Johnson asserts that bankruptcy is the only option to resolve both current and future talc-related lawsuits definitively. It believes it can pay less if there is a bankruptcy component that applies pressure to settle. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. Going back to the 400-year span of American past, the company claims that bankruptcy benefits everyone by dispersing settlements more fairly and effectively than trial courts which are where litigants get significant award while others do not.
The gist in this 3rd Circuit decision was this is not a matter of one that makes a profit, but subsidiaries to meet the legal risk and declare bankruptcy – Congress had in mind when it came to drafting the Bankruptcy Code. However, it also stated the company was financially difficulty because J&J assured it of unlimited funding.
So J&J did not hesitate to take advantage of the funding unlimited part of the holding and didn’t make any promises to offer unlimited funding for cases. The company claims that its modified financing arrangements with its subsidiary addresses the appeals court’s concerns while still providing funds for claims. As if providing victims with less money would solve the underlying issue.
Lawyers representing cancer patients who oppose the agreement counter this by arguing that the plaintiff is the legal argument. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. They counter with legal nonsense: J&J fraudulently transferred $50 billion in assets away from LTL Management to circumvent the appeals court’s previous ruling. Hyperbole is not exempt: victims’ lawyers call this the biggest “fraudulent move of assets in United States history.”
Notwithstanding the legal mumbo jumbo, J&J does not really think this bankruptcy will survive. But it’s a way of pushing this $8.9 billion settlement to keep the pressure on plaintiffs.
April 10 2023, Update Bloomberg has an interesting article on a new law that has been passed in New Jersey that is shedding new light on the funding of litigation in the plaintiffs in the class action. Funders for litigation Virage Capital Management and TRGP Capital invested in hundreds of lawsuits from Johnson & Johnson (J&J) concerning talc products in exchange for a share of any winnings. J&J is now willing the payment of $8.9 billion to settle any lawsuits.
The involvement of funders is public information due to a New Jersey court rule requiring the disclosure of certain information about funders outside the state. The rule aims to respond to the increasing calls for regulation of the litigation funders. J&J has more than 60,000 claims when you combine federal and state baby powder lawsuits. Third-party funding for mass tort lawsuits has pros and pros and. However, there is no doubt that we are witnessing how third-party funding can level the playing field for individuals and large corporations in court.
April 4, 2023 Update: It is enjoyable to see the worm turn in this lawsuit. J&J took another hit this week when they were denied by the Third Circuit denied J&J’s request to maintain the automatic stay in the meantime that J&J appeals a bankruptcy ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court. It has stopped thousands of talcum cases and stopped new lawsuits from arising ever since J&J launched the controversial attempt to spin the talc liabilities off into a bankrupt company over one year earlier. Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. When it was decided that the 3rd Circuit ruled that this bankruptcy was insufficient just a few months ago the stay was lifted. J&J was hoping to have it stayed in place until an appeal to the SCOTUS appeal. The answer was 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 being officially lifted, the first new cases were filed and incorporated into the class action involving talcum powder MDL in over one year. Seven new talc lawsuits were included in the MDL during the month of March, bringing the total number of cases that are pending to 37,522.
February 25, 2023 Update This morning, a Congressmen from Tennessee has now demanded that authorities from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) launch an investigation into the cost J&J talc products have cost the government over the decades.
Recently, in an open letter to the GAO, Rep. Steven Cohen (D-Ten.) has accused J&J of ignoring the risks of its talc product for years while tax dollars were utilized to treat people injured by exposure to the products. The demand comes just weeks following J&J’s dramatic loss in the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.
Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. J&J should begin to make reasonable settlement offers for victims in order the process of putting all this behind. It is a stain on one of the top firms.
February 14 2023 Update: In a hearing today at the hearing in New Jersey, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan announced his intention in light of the third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling to dismiss the bankruptcy case.
You May be Entitled to Significant Compensation Exposure to asbestos lawsuit. 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!