Imerys Talc America Inc. is poised for a final push for bankruptcy-court approval to poll creditors on a chapter 11 restructuring proposal covering allegations that materials mined by the company caused cancer and serious lung problems, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The Imerys SA unit has an appearance scheduled Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., with Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein, where the subsidiary hopes to get signoff on the materials to be sent out ahead of a creditor vote. The start of the voting process sets the stage for another round of clashes later this year with Johnson & Johnson, the health-care giant that was once Imerys Talc America’s biggest customer. Absent a settlement, Johnson & Johnson is expected to challenge Imerys Talc America’s chapter 11 plan, saying it amounts to an improper use of bankruptcy to shield its parent company, the French conglomerate Imerys. Imerys Talc America and Johnson & Johnson were both named in thousands of lawsuits alleging baby powder caused ovarian cancer. Both companies insist the product is safe, but a $4.7 billion jury verdict was rendered against Johnson & Johnson in 2018, touching off a feeding frenzy among attorneys that meant more lawsuits were on the way. The jury award was later cut in half.
