You May be Entitled to Significant Compensation Johnson and Johnson talc press release. 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 talc settlement would make payments of the sum of $400 million US state AGs. Johnson And Johnson Talc Press Release .
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) has set aside $400 million to address U.S. state consumer protection actions as part of a larger $8.9 billion effort to settle allegations that it’s Baby Powder and other talc items cause cancer. Johnson and Johnson talc press release.
J&J company subsidiary LTL Management filed a bankruptcy plan in New Jersey late on Monday that outlines how the firm intends to pay for different types of cancer victims in the bankruptcy settlement. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. J&J has stated that its Talc products are safe, and will not cause cancer. The company is trying for an additional time to conclude more than 38,000 cases in bankruptcy and stop new cases from coming forward in the future.
LTL’s bankruptcy plan would pay $400 million into a separate trust for claims brought from state attorney generals claiming that J&J had violated the state’s unfair commercial practices and consumer protection laws by misinforming consumers about the safety of its talc products.
Some states had started consumer protection lawsuits against J&J before LTL’s first bankruptcy filing prevented these investigations from taking place in 2021. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. New Mexico and Mississippi had already brought suit in the past against Johnson & Johnson before then and the states of Arizona, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas and Washington had issued civil investigative demands or subpoenas according to court filings.
New Mexico and Mississippi have taken steps to halt the bankruptcy of LTL as well as cancer patients as well as their counterparts from the U.S. Justice Department’s bankruptcy watchdog, who argue that a profit-making firm like J&J cannot benefit from bankruptcy protections meant for people with debt problems.
The company’s initial attempt to resolve the bankruptcy cases was rejected after the same arguments, when a U.S. appellate court ruled in favor of LTL had not been in “financial trouble” and therefore not eligible of bankruptcy protection. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. LTL made a new bankruptcy application less than two hours after the dismissal, saying that the second bankruptcy was different due to the fact that it had less money and had more support for an agreement.
New Mexico and Mississippi said in their motion to dismiss LTL’s bankruptcy renewal violates state law enforcement authorities by trying to unilaterally cap LTL’s liability to state consumer protection measures.
Johnson And Johnson Talc Press Release
LTL’s filings for the new year also contained more information on how the company plans to evaluate and pay cancer claims in the event that the bankruptcy plan is approved.
The maximum amount under the settlement would be $500,000 for people diagnosed with terminal mesothelioma before age 45 and $260,000 for those diagnosed with cancer of the ovary before age 45.
The proposed settlement provides discounts based on the nature and severity of cancer, the individual’s age, previous usage of talc and other variables. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. For example the case of a woman who used talc products weekly, had an ancestral history of ovarian cancer, and was diagnosed with an ovarian cancer stage II when she was 55 may qualify to receive a payout of $21,125 under the settlement plan.
Judge orders J&J and talc opponents participate in settlement talks.
Following another round of hearings in Johnson & Johnson’s effort to use a Texas Two-Step bankruptcy strategy to resolve talc litigation, federal bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan has ordered the company as well as those who oppose the plan to hold talks to reach a settlement, Bloomberg reports.
The second time it attempted to file for bankruptcy for LTL management, a subsidiary founded by J&J to hold the claims–the company proposed a settlement of $8.9 billion. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. While one group of law firms representing plaintiffs supports the offer, another group is against the settlement.
The previous week, the opposition group, dubbed”the Official Committee of Talc Claimants requested the bankruptcy court to disqualify the petition by arguing that LTL is not considered to be financially distressed.
“The filing is an unjust and legally flawed attempt by a tiny number of law firms to block claimants from voting on the resolution plan – a plan that the overwhelming majority of claimants support,” J&J’s litigation chief Erik Haas, said in a statement. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. “The law firms behind these filings have interests in finance that are in conflict with, diverge from and contravene those of their clients. We’ll submit an answer in the appeals court.”
Johnson and Johnson talc press release. Clay Thompson, a lawyer for MRHFM who has more than 80 mesothelioma clients who have filed lawsuits against J&J for bankruptcy, told the second bankruptcy attempt of J&J is likely to fail.
“J&J issues press releases that boast about how amazing its plans are, but is insisting that the details of its plan–including the treatment the individual sick individuals would receive–be kept secret,” Thompson said in an announcement. “What does the company have to keep secret?”
Kaplan has instructed both sides to create a restructuring plan, with supervision by two mediators.
The court in February of 2022 Kaplan stated that J&J’s recourse to Chapter 11 to hasten a settlement that will free J&J from the hundreds of thousands of claims regarding its talcum products.
But in January of this year a federal appeals court ruled against the decision, ruling that the company could not be considered in “financial financial distress.”
In the event that J&J’s request to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied on April 1, J&J was granted a second petition for bankruptcy roughly two hours later. In response, Kaplan froze the lawsuits for 60 calendar days to decide whether to grant another bankruptcy.
J&J’s unstoppable profit machine sputters after $6.9B talc litigation charge.
With the 2 Chapter 11 attempts, J&J has bought 19 months during which cases were put held. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. J&J wants the claimants to vote on accepting their settlement. J&J requires 75% support in order for the agreement to be accepted.
In addition to the group of talc attorneys who have panned the bankruptcy of the company, the U.S. Trustee, an arm that is part of the U.S. Department of Justice was also the one to file motions to dismiss LTL’s second bankruptcy.
In a statement this week, U.S. Trustee Andrew R. Vara wrote that the doors of the bankruptcy court are “open to honest but unfortunate debtors.” These doors “are not available to anyone that lack a legitimate bankruptcy objective or seek to use bankruptcy to hinder or delay their creditors.” Vara continued.
For its part, J&J maintains there is no conclusive evidence that its Talc-based products, such as its famous baby powder, cause cancer. J&J has been taking the products of the market first to be available in North America in 2020–and the rest of the world this year.
J&J seeks to avoid the costly business of going to court. The company has won most of the cases that have been decided at trial, but certain losses have been extremely punitive.
A high-profile trial in Missouri led to an $4.7 billion verdict against the drug company and was later lowered to $2.1 billion after 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 being appealed or decided. Out of 41 trials 32 of them ended in an outcome for J&J, a mistrial or verdict for a plaintiff that was annulled on appeal. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. Separately, the company in 2020 moved to settle around 1,000 cases for the sum of $100 million. Bloomberg reported at the time.
Talcum Baby Powder Ovarian Cancer Lawsuit – Johnson And Johnson Talc Press Release
Our lawyers handle baby powder lawsuits in all 50 states. The lawsuits involving talcum powder on behalf of Johnson & Johnson have been in the process for several years. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. The lawsuits allege that prolonged use of talcum powder (or “talc”), the active ingredient in products such as Baby Powder along with Shower to Shower which can cause ovarian cancer in some women.
This page offers an J&J Talc Power litigation update and discusses how the upcoming bankruptcy ruling will impact the final settlement amounts of the ovarian cancer lawsuits.
Has the deadline passed for you to make a claim for talcum powder? Many who assume the deadline has passed to file a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson are wrong. Contact us now at 800-553-8082 or get a no-cost, quick review of your case online.
Johnson and Johnson Talcum Powder Lawsuit Update 2023 – Johnson And Johnson Talc Press Release
June 2 2023 Update: In an asbestos talc court trial held at the trial in California yesterday, some technical issues disrupted the opening statement by the defense lawyers. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. Jurors from their homes via Zoom and hearing the Johnson and Johnson’s lawyer express doubt about the 70s research claiming asbestos was present in their product prior to the proceedings abruptly ended.
Meanwhile, the plaintiff had the opportunity to present the first of their witnesses, Arthur Langer. Langer explained that the existence of additional minerals along with the talc mineral is a given. He testified that his team was notified by J&J in 1971 of the presence of chrysotile asbestos the talc produced by the company, although at lesser than 0.1 percent. He also uncovered more asbestos in the year 1976.
June 1st, 2023 Update Johnson and Johnson talc press release. First trial after J&J made the decision to split its Talc division, and then declare bankrupt marks an important moment of the ongoing litigation controversy. Trial began yesterday in the heartbreaking case of a young 24 year-old plaintiff who was diagnosed with an aggressive and rare form of mesothelioma earlier this year. an illness that lawyers on both sides of the argument agree is a grave tragedy.
Opening statements laid bare distinct differences between each side’s story. The attorney for the plaintiff took aim at Johnson & Johnson, alleging the use of deceitful strategies in its research practices as well as throughout the litigation process. The attorney claims that, according to Johnson & Johnson attempted to alter asbestos’ definition, despite internal documents from 1978 and 1994 showing that asbestos fibers that were found in the tissue of the plaintiff are included.
Johnson & Johnson’s uncertain $8.9 billion settlement is hanging in the balance with the progression of this trial. Despite the particularity of this mesothelioma-related case and its distinct issues compared to other lawsuits involving talcum powder A verdict in favor of the plaintiff could be an enormous setback for J&J’s hopes of broad acceptance of their proposed settlement with plaintiffs.
May 31, 2023: Update from Johnson and Johnson’s bankrupted talc unit has is defending the Second Chapter 11 filing in the in the face of challenges from injured talc claimants. In an appeal to the New Jersey bankruptcy court, J&J’s subsidiary claimed that the filing was vastly different from the prior filing. It highlighted the extraordinary commitment to $8.9 billion from J&J which is the largest ever settlement in the history of a mass tort bankruptcy. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. Not mentioned: how the amount of the settlement indicates that it is a fair settlement. J&J also claimed support from numerous plaintiffs’ law firms that represent over 600,00 claimants. This is difficult to verify but is probably incorrect.
May 24, 2023 Update: Since Johnson and Johnson’s bankruptcy filing in 2021 filing, the very first trial involving its cosmetic talc products that are believed to containing asbestos is set to start jury selection Monday in California within the Alameda County Superior Court, a historically good court for plaintiffs. The plaintiff claims that his mesothelioma is the result of asbestos exposure resulting from J&J’s products and the company denies. The trial also includes six retailers who are accused of selling talc-based products.
May 22, 2023 Update: Lawyers involved in the 2nd J&J talc bankruptcy are disputing who should be chosen to fill the role of a future claims representative. This is which is vitally important to resolving the talc claims. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. Randi Ellis, a lawyer who frequently appears in MDLs across 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 yet again, but the lawyers for the plaintiffs in talc are arguing on the grounds that Ellis has an interest conflict that should prevent her from being appointed to that post once more. The dispute stems from reality that Ellis was believed to have been involved in the drafting of the highly disputable second bankruptcy, which raises questions regarding her capacity to remain neutral. It’s true that the bankruptcy will be dismissed regardless.
May 17, 2023 Update The fake company J&J put together for the talc litigation bankruptcy disclosed to an New Jersey bankruptcy court that they had allocated $400 million to pay the claims brought by states accusing the company of deceitful advertising for its talc-based products. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. So that makes it an $8.5 billion settlement to cancer victims. It’s difficult to envision the scenario in which J&J could push the settlements of baby powder through in these figures. Although J&J’s $8.5 billion offer may seem like a lot initially, it may not appear appealing after you calculate the figures. The proposed settlement based on our rough calculations would not be able to pay victims more than $100,000 per instance. That is not enough.
May 15th, 2023, Update J&J may be in the middle of a lawsuit from an advocacy group that represents cancer victims. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. The group claims that J&J deliberately retracted a $61.5 billion funding agreement with its subsidiary, LTL Management LLC, to create the appearance of financial hardship and verify the unit’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The group asserts this action amounts to a fraudulent transfer of rights of compensation for victims. They intend to investigate J&J’s actions as a result of the denial of LTL’s first bankruptcy suit.
May 10 2023 Update: During the next week next week, this week the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey will hear oral arguments regarding a motion to dismiss the second bankruptcy filing that was filed by J&J subsidiary LTL Management. However, in the meantime it has approved an Order that requires both parties to take part in a second settlement mediation in the hope that an international settlement agreement can be brokered.
May 5th, 2023 Update: Talc provider Whittaker, Clark & Daniels filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to several lawsuits alleging that its talc products cause cancer from asbestos exposure. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. Over 2,700 people have sued the firm and the company was spending $1 million a month on legal defense. The company’s recent $29million settlement that was handed down in South Carolina forced it to apply for bankruptcy protection and argue that assets should be distributed in an equitable manner between the claimants of talc instead of being taken over from the receiver. Other suppliers of talc have been forced to file for bankruptcy as a result of litigation.
May 4 2023, Update U.S. The bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan has directed Johnson & Johnson to restart settlement discussions with lawyers who turned down Johnson & Johnson’s $8.9 billion agreement. In Trenton, New Jersey yesterday, the parties gathered in court to discuss next steps in another bankruptcy proceeding. Judge Kaplan encouraged further settlement talks.
This is the answer to settle these claims for J&J. A baby powder settlement could be made. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. However, it’ll require additional money – perhaps billions of dollars of Johnson & Johnson.
Lawyers are divided over whether or not to accept the plan and not all clients view the issue the same way their lawyer views it. This second case of bankruptcy is expected to fail and Judge Kaplan has scheduled a hearing for June to determine whether to remove the bankruptcy after the second.
May 3, 2023 Update The group of cancer victims suing Johnson & Johnson (J&J) requested to have J&J’s Third Circuit halt the bankruptcy filed by J&J subsidiary LTL Management, claiming it is a bid to stop the litigation involving talc products. The group of talc claimants submitted a motion on Tuesday requesting to the Third Circuit to consider their case and then send it back to a lower court, with instructions for dismissing the bankruptcy. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. The committee also requested that the stoppage of tort litigation against J&J should be permitted to proceed.
LTL requested Chapter 11 protection once again following the bankruptcy filing it made earlier was rejected in the Third Circuit earlier this year with a $8.9 billion payment. The committee argues that the recent ruling which allowed LTL’s second Chapter 11 to continue, as well as halting the trials against J&J and J&J, requires urgent Third Circuit review. The US Trustee requested an New Jersey bankruptcy court dismiss the LTL bankruptcy case. J&J’s global vice president of litigation, Erik Haas, was quoted by Bloomberg saying that J&J intends to file a response in the appeals court saying that the filing is a “desperate and legally flawed move” by a handful of law firms who have conflicting financial interests.
May 1st 2023 Update: A frequently asked question is how plaintiffs and their lawyers turn on $8.9 billion. Of course, it’s an enormous amount of money. But there are a lot of victims. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. And these are really good arguments for plaintiffs. We were reminded recently with two talc trials resulted in big verdicts for the plaintiffs. In February mesothelioma, a talcum-based powder trial in Oregon ended in a verdict in the amount of $18.1 million. The following month, a second mesothelioma trial involving talc was held for the court at South Carolina and resulted in the verdict of $29 million for the plaintiff. In both instances, the defendant was Whittaker, Clark & Daniels Inc., one of the most prominent suppliers of talc in the U.S.
April 30 2023 Update: J&J first tried to bring the lawsuit over talcum powder into bankruptcy, it came with an offer to put aside $2 billion to settle the case. It was a ridiculously small amount. The talc plaintiffs had not agreed with the proposal. This time, however, J&J has increased the offer to $8.9 for talc-related plaintiffs if they will allow a bankruptcy settlement and they have the support of a substantial part of the talc-related plaintiffs and their lawyers. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. But with 75% of plaintiffs of talc are needed for approval of the bankruptcy plan is a difficult road due to the sheer number of lawyers with huge inventory of baby powder lawsuits that are opposed to the settlement.
What can be done to end the impasse? More billions.
April 25, 2023, Update Talc patients have asked 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 distressed. LTL requested Chapter 11 to settle tens of thousands of claims that J&J’s baby products caused cancer. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. In the end, however, the 3rd Circuit dismissed its first Chapter 11 case in January in a ruling that said LTL was not eligible for bankruptcy relief since it had not demonstrated financial stress.
The claimants contend that LTL’s Second Chapter 11 case is an overreach of the bankruptcy system and that the case is being handled in bad good faith. J&J states that the bankruptcy settlement has “significant backing” from companies representing approximately 60,000 claimants. It is fair to say plaintiffs’ lawyers and victims ‘ lawyers are divided on the $8.9 billion amount of settlement offered.
April 21st, 2023 Update A bankruptcy judge decided that Johnson & Johnson must face new lawsuits alleging that the firm offered a baby powder with a contaminant that caused cancer. Although the trials for Talc lawsuits are suspended for a minimum of 60 days but new lawsuits can be filed, and lawyers will begin preparing their cases. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. The judge expressed his doubts about J&J’s absurd attempt to relaunch its strategy in the second bankruptcy case.
April 13th 2023 Update: The biggest story is that there’s an $8.9 billion over the course of 25 year period settlement offered. Lawyers representing cancer victims involved in the MDL group action promised to challenge the settlement the talc claimants. Why? They feel it’s not enough for more than 70,000 cancer victims. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. These lawyers argue that J&J should negotiate a larger settlement or even litigate individual claims in the event that the latest bankruptcy is declared unconstitutional.
But there’s a separate group of lawyers that is not part of the leadership of the class action. The lawyers collectively have accumulated hundreds of thousands of cases. This group wants to settle the case now in what many believe to be less than the victims deserve. Their argument appears to be twofold. The first is that they claim the settlement – about an average of $100,000 per plaintiff is fair.
It’s a difficult argument to argue. But their second argument has more force: the victims can now not wait and they want to get their money right now.
April 12 2023 Update: Many are wondering if J&J could file for bankruptcy again. The answer is complex and complicated. But let’s try to explain it in simple terms.
Johnson & Johnson asserts that bankruptcy is the only method to address both present and future talc-related lawsuits definitively. That is, it thinks it can get a lower rate should there be the bankruptcy element which applies pressure to settle. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. Driving past 400 years of American history, the company claims that bankruptcy benefits all parties as it distributes settlements more fairly and effectively than trial courts, in which some litigants receive substantial awards while others receive nothing.
The basic tenet of this 3rd Circuit decision was this is not a matter of one that makes a profit, but an entity to assume the legal risk and declare bankruptcy, which is what Congress contemplated when drafting the Bankruptcy Code. It also clarified the company was financially difficulty due to the fact that J&J promises unlimited funding.
So J&J jumped on the unlimited funding part of the agreement but did not pledge that it would provide unlimited funds for cases. The company says that its revised financing arrangements with its subsidiary will address concerns of the appeals court while offering funds to pay claims. In the hope that offering victims lesser money could solve the overall issue.
Lawyers representing cancer victims who do not agree with the agreement counter this argument by saying that it is a defense against legal nonsense by pointing out legal nonsense: J&J fraudulently transferred $50 billion in assets away from LTL Management to circumvent the appeals court’s ruling. The hyperbole wasn’t spared by the victims’ lawyers, who call it the most significant “fraudulent deal that has occurred in United States history.”
Notwithstanding the legal mumbo jumbo, J&J does not really think that the bankruptcy will endure. It is however a method to try and push the $8.9 billion settlement and keep the pressure on plaintiffs.
April 10, 2023 Update Bloomberg provides an insightful piece on a law that has been passed of New Jersey that is shedding new light on the funding of litigation in the suit for class actions. Funders for litigation Virage Capital Management and TRGP Capital invested in hundreds of claims that were brought against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) concerning talc products in exchange in exchange for a portion of profits. J&J is now willing an offer of $8.9 billion to settle any lawsuits.
The involvement of funders is public knowledge because of a New Jersey court rule requiring the disclosure of certain information regarding outside funding backers. The law is designed to respond to the increasing calls for regulation of the litigation funders. J&J faces over 60,000 claims when you add up state and federal baby powder lawsuits. Third-party funding in mass tort claims has pros and cons. However, there is no doubt that we are seeing the ways that third-party funding can even the playing field for individuals as well as large corporations in court.
April 4, 2023 Update: It is pleasing to see the worm turn in this legal battle. J&J took another hit this week when the Third Circuit denied J&J’s request to continue the automatic stay during the time that J&J appeals an order granting bankruptcy in the U.S. Supreme Court. Automatic stays have froze the cases of talcum powder in a number of years and stopped new lawsuits from arising ever since J&J launched the controversial attempt to spin the talc debts off into a bankrupt entity over one year ago. Johnson and Johnson talc press release. After the 3rd Circuit ruled that this bankruptcy was invalid just a few months ago the stay was removed. J&J was hoping to have it remain in effect until an appeal to the SCOTUS appeal. But, no.
April 1, 2023 Update: Johnson & Johnson announced it will appeal its 3rd Circuit bankruptcy loss to the U.S. Supreme Court last week. The odds that is that the Supreme Court is willing even to consider the appeal? Low.
March 16th 2023 Update: with the bankruptcy stay having been in effect, the first new cases have been filed and transferred into the talcum powder class action MDL within a year. Seven new talc lawsuits have been joined to the MDL over the last month and brought the total number of pending cases up to 37,522.
February 25, 2023 Update 2023 Update: A Congressmen from Tennessee has now demanded that be the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) start an investigation into the amount J&J product containing talc has cost the government over the many years.
In a recent letter to the GAO, Rep. Steven Cohen (D-Ten.) accused J&J of ignoring the dangers of its talc products over long while tax dollars spent on treating people who suffered injuries from exposure to the product. The suit comes just a few days after J&J’s major loss in the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.
Johnson and Johnson talc press release. J&J needs to start making reasonable settlement proposals to victims to begin getting this behind it. This is a disgrace to one of the world’s greatest companies.
February 14 2023 Update: During an appearance today in New Jersey, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan announced his intention in light of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling to dismiss the bankruptcy case.
You May be Entitled to Significant Compensation Johnson and Johnson talc press release. 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!