You May be Entitled to Significant Compensation Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. 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 $400 million to US state AGs. Lawsuits Over Talcum Powder Exposure .
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) has put aside $400 million to settle U.S. state consumer protection actions as part of a larger $8.9 billion deal to settle claims that its Baby Powder and other talc-based product causes cancer. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure.
J&J company subsidiary LTL Management filed a bankruptcy plan in New Jersey late on Monday that describes how the company intends to pay different types of cancer patients in an arrangement for bankruptcy. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. J&J has claimed that its Talc products are safe, and will not cause cancer. J&J is seeking an additional time to conclude more than 38,000 lawsuits filed in bankruptcy, and to prevent any new cases from coming forward in the future.
LTL’s bankruptcy plan will pay $400 million into an additional trust to settle lawsuits filed in state courts by attorneys general alleging that J&J violated laws against unfair business practices in the State of New York and consumer protection laws through misleading consumers about the security of its talc-based products.
A number of states had already initiated consumer protection cases against J&J prior to LTL’s bankruptcy filing prevented those investigations from taking place in 2021. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. New Mexico and Mississippi had already launched actions against Johnson & Johnson before then and the states of Arizona, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas and Washington had issued subpoenas or civil investigative demands according to court filings.
New Mexico and Mississippi have taken steps to halt the bankruptcy of LTL in a joint move with cancer victims and the U.S. Justice Department’s bankruptcy watchdog. They have claimed that a lucrative company like J&J is not eligible for bankruptcy protections meant for people with debt problems.
LTL’s first attempt at resolving the bankruptcy-related lawsuits was dismissed after similar arguments, when a U.S. appellate court decided in favor of LTL had not been in “financial distress” and therefore not eligible to receive bankruptcy relief. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. LTL filed a second bankruptcy just over two hours after the decision to dismiss, arguing that the second bankruptcy was different because it had less money available and had more support for the possibility of settling.
New Mexico and Mississippi said in their motion to dismiss LTL’s new bankruptcy violates state law enforcement powers by trying to unilaterally cap the company’s liability for state consumer protection actions.
Lawsuits Over Talcum Powder Exposure
LTL’s filings for the new year also contained more information about how the company plans to evaluate and pay cancer claims when the bankruptcy plan is approved.
The highest payments under the settlement would be $500,000 for patients diagnosed with cancer of the mesothelioma ovary before the age of 45, and $260,000 for those diagnosed with ovarian cancer that is terminal before age 45.
The proposed settlement will offer discounts based on the severity and type of cancer, the individual’s age, the history of using talc and other factors. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. For example an individual who was using talc products on a weekly basis, who had an ancestral history of ovarian cancer, and was diagnosed with the stage 2 ovarian cancer by age 55 may be eligible for a $21,125 payout according to the plan.
Judge gives order to J&J and talc opponents to participate in settlement talks.
Following another hearing 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 company as well as those who oppose the plan to hold negotiations to settle the matter, Bloomberg reports.
With its second bankruptcy bid for LTL Management, a subsidiary created by J&J to manage the claims company proposed a settlement of $8.9 billion. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. While a group of law firms representing plaintiffs supports the proposal, another group opposes the deal.
The previous week, the opposition group, dubbed the Official Committee of Talc Claimants, urged the bankruptcy court to disqualify the petition by argument that LTL is not a factor in financial hardship.
“The filing is a desperate and legally ineffective attempt by a few of law firms to stop claimants from deciding on the resolution plan, a plan the vast and growing majority of claimants support,” J&J’s litigation chief Erik Haas, said in a statement. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. “The law firms behind these filings have interests in finance that clash with, diverge from and are in opposition to the interests that their customers. We’ll soon submit an answer to the appellate court.”
Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. Clay Thompson, a lawyer for MRHFM, which includes more than mesothelioma patients who have filed lawsuits against J&J claimed that the second bankruptcy attempt of J&J will fail.
“J&J sends out press releases describing how fantastic its plans are, but is requesting that details of the plan, such as what individual sick people would actually receive — be kept private,” Thompson said in an email. “What do they have to keep secret?”
Kaplan has instructed both sides to devise a second strategy for reorganization, under the oversight by two mediators.
The court in February of 2022 Kaplan confirmed J&J’s recourse to Chapter 11 to hasten a settlement that would release the company from the hundreds of thousands of claims over its talcum products.
In the month of January, an appeals court in the United States overturned the ruling, ruling that the company could not be considered to be in “financial financial distress.”
The J&J’s plan to make an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court was dismissed at the end of April J&J applied for its first bankruptcy about two hours later. In response to that move, Kaplan froze the lawsuits for 60 days to decide whether to allow the second bankruptcy.
J&J’s unstoppable profit engine sputters after $6.9B the talc litigation cost.
In the 2 Chapter 11 attempts, J&J has been able to buy 19 months in which the cases were suspended. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. J&J wants the claimants to decide whether they want to accept the settlement. J&J will require 75% approval for the deal to go through.
In addition to the group of talc lawyers that criticized the company’s bankruptcy play and the U.S. Trustee which is a division that is part of the U.S. Department of Justice is also submitting an appeal to dismiss LTL’s second bankruptcy case.
In a letter filed 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 goal or who seek to abuse the bankruptcy process to hinder or delay their creditors,” Vara continued.
On the other hand, J&J maintains there is no evidence conclusive that its Talc-based products, such as its famous baby powder, can cause cancer. J&J has taken the products from the market and will first launch them on North America in 2020–and the rest of the world this year.
J&J intends to steer clear of the cost of going to court. It has prevailed in the majority of the cases that have been decided during trial, however, certain losses have been severe.
A high-profile trial in Missouri ended in an $4.7 billion verdict against the drugmaker, which was later reduced to $2.1 billion after appeals.
Johnson & Johnson faces high-stakes hearing over ‘Texas Two Step’ talc strategy: report
Overall, J&J has lost nine trial involving talc that are in appeal or decided. Of the 41 trials, 32 have ended in an outcome for J&J, a mistrial or plaintiff verdict that was reversed after appeal. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. The company also has announced plans to settle more than 1000 cases for 100 million dollars, Bloomberg announced at that time.
Talcum Baby Powder Ovarian Cancer Lawsuit – Lawsuits Over Talcum Powder Exposure
Our lawyers are handling the baby powder litigation in every state. The lawsuits involving talcum powder on behalf of Johnson & Johnson have been ongoing for many years. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. The lawsuits contend that the prolonged use of the powder (or “talc”), the active ingredient in products such as baby Powder as well as Shower to Shower as well as other products, may cause ovarian cancer among some women.
This article provides the J&J Talc Power litigation update and provides an overview of how the upcoming bankruptcy ruling affects the final settlement amount of the ovarian cancer lawsuits.
Is the deadline for you to start a lawsuit against talcum powder? Many who believe the statute of limitations has passed to sue Johnson & Johnson are wrong. Call us today at 800-553-8082 or get a free and quick case review online.
Johnson and Johnson Talcum Powder Lawsuit Update 2023 – Lawsuits Over Talcum Powder Exposure
June 2 2023 Update: During the asbestos talc trial in California yesterday, a couple of technical issues interrupted the opening statements of the defense lawyers. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. The jurors, attending from their homes via Zoom, did hear Johnson & Johnson’s lawyer expressing skepticism about the 70s science that claimed asbestos was present in their product before the proceedings abruptly ended.
Meanwhile, the plaintiff was able to introduce its first expert witness Arthur Langer. Langer explained that the existence of other minerals alongside talc is inevitable. He said that his team was notified by J&J in the year 1971 of the presence of chrysotile asbestos the talc of the company, but with just 0.1 percent. He also found more asbestos in 1976.
June 1st, 2023 Update: Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. This is the first court trial that has taken place since J&J has decided to separate its talc division and declare bankruptcy is an important turning point within the ongoing lawsuit saga. The trial started yesterday in the poignant trial of a young plaintiff, diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of mesothelioma last year. which lawyers on both sides of the argument agree is a tragic loss.
Opening statements revealed sharp differences in the two sides’ narrative. The attorney for the plaintiff took aim towards Johnson & Johnson, alleging the use of deceptive methods in their research practices as well as throughout the litigation process. As per the lawyer, Johnson & Johnson tried to alter the definition of asbestos in spite of internal documents from 1998 and 1994 that show asbestos fibers that were found in the plaintiff’s tissue are included.
Johnson &J’s highly uncertain $8.9 billion settlement offer hangs in the balance with the course of this trial. Despite the distinctive nature of this mesothelioma case and its distinct issues compared to most talcum powder lawsuits, a verdict favoring the plaintiff could cause an unintended setback to Johnson & J’s hopes for broad acceptance of their proposed settlement with plaintiffs.
May 31, 2023: Update from Johnson & Johnson’s bankrupt talc division is defending it’s second 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 differed fundamentally from the first filing. The subsidiary emphasized the record-breaking commitment of $8.9 billion by J&J the largest settlement ever in any bankruptcy case that involves mass tort. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. 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 companies representing over the 60,000 plaintiffs. This is hard to verify but likely incorrect.
May 24 2023 Update: Following Johnson & Johnson’s 2021 bankruptcy filing, the very first trial on its cosmetic talc products allegedly containing asbestos is set to start jury selection on Monday, May 24, California within the Alameda County Superior Court, an historically reliable court for plaintiffs. The plaintiff asserts that his mesothelioma is the result of asbestos exposure resulting from J&J’s products and that the company has denied. The trial also involves six retailers accused of selling talc-containing products.
May 22nd, 2023 Update Lawyers involved in the second J&J Talc bankruptcy are fighting over who should be appointed to the role of a the claims representative in the future, a role that is critically essential to the resolution of the claims involving talc. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. Randi Ellis, a lawyer who is frequently involved in MDLs throughout the country was appointed as the claims representative in the first bankruptcy. J&J’s defense team wants Ellis to be appointed to this position again, but lawyers for the talc plaintiffs are objecting on the grounds that Ellis has conflicts of interest that would prevent her from taking on that role again. The dispute stems from possibility that Ellis was apparently involved in drafting the controversially contesting second bankruptcy, which raises questions about her ability to be neutral. However, the reality is that this bankruptcy will likely to get dismissed anyway.
May 17, 2023 Update: The pretend company that J&J made up to handle the bankruptcy of talc has informed an New Jersey bankruptcy court that they have set aside $400 million to settle allegations made by states who accuse J&J of misleading marketing for its talc products. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. So that makes it an $8.5 billion settlement to cancer victims. It’s difficult to envision a scenario where J&J could push these baby powder settlements through with these numbers. While J&J’s $8.5 billion offer seems like a huge sum initially, it may not look very appealing after you calculate the figures. This settlement offer based on our rough calculations would not provide victims with much more than a median settlement of $100,000 per instance. This isn’t enough.
May 15 2023 update: J&J may be in the middle of a lawsuit from an advocacy group representing cancer patients. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. The group claims that J&J intentionally canceled an $61.5 billion financing agreement with its subsidiary, LTL Management LLC, to simulate financial distress and to validate the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The group claims this decision is equivalent to a fraudulent transfer of the rights of compensation for victims. They will investigate J&J’s actions as a result of the dismissal of LTL’s first bankruptcy suit.
May 10 2023 Update: Next week this week, next week, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey will hear oral arguments on a motion to dismiss the second bankruptcy petition filed of J&J subsidiaries LTL Management. However, in the meantime the bankruptcy has issued an Order that requires both parties to participate in a settlement mediation to see if a global settlement deal can reached.
May 5th, 2023 Update: Talc provider Whittaker, Clark & Daniels filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to many lawsuits claiming that its talc products caused cancer from asbestos exposure. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. Over 2,700 people have sued the firm 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 file for bankruptcy protection, arguing for equitable distribution of assets between talc claimants rather than being taken over in the hands of the receiver. Other talc suppliers have also declared bankruptcy because of the litigation.
May 4 2023 Update: U.S. Court of Bankruptcy Michael Kaplan has directed Johnson & Johnson to reopen talks with lawyers who turned down Johnson & Johnson’s $8.9 billion settlement offer. It was in Trenton, New Jersey yesterday the parties gathered in court to discuss next steps for another bankruptcy proceeding. Judge Kaplan pushed more settlement talks.
This is the best way to resolve the claims of J&J. The baby powder settlement is likely to get done. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. However, it will require more money – more billions of dollars by Johnson & Johnson.
Lawyers are split on whether or not to accept the plan and not every client sees the issue the same way their lawyer does. Second bankruptcy cases are bound to go nowhere the judge Kaplan has scheduled a hearing for June to decide if he will remove the bankruptcy after the second.
May 3, 2023 Update The group of cancer patients who have sued Johnson & Johnson (J&J) demanded that the Third Circuit halt the bankruptcy filed by J&J subsidiary LTL Management, claiming it is an attempt to derail the litigation involving talc products. The group representing the claimants has filed a motion this week, asking for the Third Circuit to consider their case and send it back an earlier court with instructions to dismiss the bankruptcy. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. The committee also requested that the stoppage of tort litigation against J&J be allowed to continue.
LTL has filed for Chapter 11 protection once again after its first bankruptcy filing was denied by the Third Circuit earlier this year, offering the possibility of an $8.9 billion deal. The committee argues that the recent ruling which allowed LTL’s second Chapter 11 to continue, while also halting trials against J&J and J&J, requires immediate Third Circuit review. The US Trustee has also 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 declaring that J&J plans to file a statement in the appeals court characterizing the filing as an “desperate and legally deficient attempt” by a few of law firms that have competing financial interests.
May 1st, 2023 Update: One common question that people ask is how could plaintiffs and their lawyers be able to turn down $8.9 billion. That’s of course an immense amount of money. But there are a lot of victims. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. These are an excellent cases for plaintiffs. We were reminded of this recently in two talc trials which resulted in big verdicts for the plaintiffs. In February mesothelioma, a talcum-based powder trial in Oregon led to an award worth $18.1 million. The following month, a second talc mesothelioma case went to trials at South Carolina and resulted in an award of $29 million for the plaintiff. The defendant in both cases was Whittaker, Clark & Daniels Inc. which is one of the top producers of talc in the U.S.
April 30th, 2023 Update: When J&J initially tried to take the talcum powder litigation into bankruptcy, it came with an offer to put aside $2 billion to settle the case. The amount was absurdly low. None of the talc plaintiffs believed in the proposal. This time, however, J&J has increased the offer to $8.9 for talc-related plaintiffs if they are willing to accept bankruptcy settlements and also has the backing of a significant part of the talc-related plaintiffs and their lawyers. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. But with 75% of talc plaintiffs, which is needed for approval of the bankruptcy plan, it a tough road with so many lawyers with massive collections of baby powder lawsuits that are opposed against the proposed settlement.
What are the solutions to the impasse? More billions.
April 25, 2023 Update: Talc patients have asked a judge to dismiss the Chapter 11 case filed by LTL Management LLC, a absurdly made-up Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, insisting that the company is not financially distressed. LTL filed for Chapter 11 to settle tens of thousands of claims that J&J’s baby powders caused cancer. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. In the end, however, 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 trouble.
The claimants contend that the Second Chapter 11 case is an abuse of the bankruptcy system, and that it’s being conducted in bad good faith. J&J states that the bankruptcy settlement receives “significant support” from the firms that represent approximately 60,000 people who are claiming. It is fair to say that plaintiffs’ lawyers and victims ‘ lawyers are divided on this $8.9 billion deal.
April 21, 2023 Update: A bankruptcy judge has decided that Johnson & Johnson must face new lawsuits alleging that the firm offered a baby powder with a contaminant that caused cancer. Although trials for talc lawsuits are paused for at least 60 calendar days and new lawsuits are able to be filed and lawyers can begin preparing their cases. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. The judge expressed skepticism over J&J’s pathetic attempt to relaunch its strategy in a second bankruptcy case.
April 13th, 2023 Update: big story is that there’s an $8.9 billion over 25 years offer for settlement. Lawyers representing cancer victims within MDL class action MDL class action have vowed to challenge the settlement Talc claimants. Why? They believe it’s too little money for the 70 000 cancer patients. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. The lawyers say that J&J should negotiate a larger settlement or pursue individual claims if the latest bankruptcy is thrown out.
But there is another set of lawyers who are not part of the leadership of group action. These lawyers have amassed the equivalent of tens of thousands of lawsuits. This group wants to settle the case now with what they believe is lower than what the victims should be paid. Their argument appears to be twofold. They argue that the settlement – which amounts to 100 million dollars on average per plaintiff is fair.
This is an argument that is difficult to prove. However, their second argument has more force: the victims can no longer wait and want to get their money right now.
April 12 2023 Update: Many are asking how J&J can file for bankruptcy once more. The answer is complicated and confusing. Let’s try to clarify the issue in a simple way.
Johnson & Johnson asserts that bankruptcy is the only option to settle both present and future lawsuits involving talc conclusively. That is, it believes that it will be less expensive if there is the bankruptcy element which applies pressure for a settlement. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. In a quest to cover hundreds of years of American history, the company believes that bankruptcy is beneficial to all parties because it distributes settlements more equally and effectively than trial courts where some litigants receive significant awards while others receive nothing.
The basic tenet of the 3rd Circuit decision was this is not a case – the profit-making company that has an entity to assume the legal responsibility and declare bankruptcy Congress thought of when drafting its Bankruptcy Code. However, it also stated that the entity was in financial crisis because J&J assured it of unlimited funding.
This is why J&J took advantage of the unlimited funding portion of the contract and didn’t promise to provide unlimited funding for lawsuits. The company says that its revised financing arrangements with its subsidiary address appeals court’s concerns while still offering claim payment funds. In the hope that offering victims lower amounts of money would resolve the overarching problem.
Attorneys representing cancer patients who oppose the deal counter this argument by saying that it is countering legal nonsense legal absurdity: J&J fraudulently transferred $50 billion of assets from LTL Management to circumvent the appeals court’s decision. Hyperbole is not exempt by the victims’ lawyers, who call it the most significant “fraudulent move of assets in United States history.”
Despite all the legal jargon, J&J does not really think that the bankruptcy will endure. But it’s a way of pushing this $8.9 billion settlement to keep pressure on plaintiffs.
April 10 2023 update: Bloomberg offers an informative piece on a law that has been passed of New Jersey that is shedding new light on litigation funding in the baby powder class action lawsuit. Funders for litigation Virage Capital Management and TRGP Capital invested in hundreds of lawsuits that were brought against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) concerning talc products in exchange in exchange for a portion of wins. J&J is now offering an offer of $8.9 billion to settle lawsuits.
The involvement of the funders is made public 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 the regulation of lawsuit funders. J&J is facing more than 60,000 claims when you add up federal and state Baby Powder lawsuits. Third-party financing in mass tort cases has pros and cons. There is no doubt that we are seeing how third-party funding can level the playing field for individuals and big corporations in the courtroom.
April 4, 2023 Update: It’s enjoyable to see the worm turn in this lawsuit. J&J took another hit this week, when it was found that the Third Circuit denied J&J’s request to extend the automatic stay as J&J appeals a bankruptcy decision in the U.S. Supreme Court. This automatic stay froze the cases of talcum powder in a number of years and prevented new lawsuits from being filed ever since J&J began the controversial plan to spin the talc debts into a bankrupt subsidiary over a year back. Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. When it was decided that the 3rd Circuit ruled that this bankruptcy was not legal just a few months ago the stay was revoked. J&J wanted to see it continued pending hearing 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 the Supreme Court is willing even to hear the appeal? Low.
March 16th 2023 Update: With the bankruptcy stay now in effect, the first new cases have been filed and transferred into the Talcum Powder class action MDL in just over a year. Seven new talc-related lawsuits were brought into the MDL in the past 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 the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) begin an investigation to determine how much J&J talc products have cost the government over the years.
Recently, in an open letter addressed to the GAO, Rep. Steven Cohen (D-Ten.) has accused J&J of ignoring the risks of its talc-based products for many years, while tax dollars were spent on treating people who suffered injuries from exposure to the products. The lawsuit comes just a few weeks following J&J’s dramatic loss in the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.
Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. J&J has to begin making fair settlement offers to victims to begin getting this behind. This is a disgrace to one of the top companies.
February 14 , 2023 Update: At an appearance today at the hearing in New Jersey, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan announced his intention following his 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling to dismiss the bankruptcy case.
You May be Entitled to Significant Compensation Lawsuits over talcum powder exposure. 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!