People alleging that Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based baby powder caused their cancer are seeking to restrain the company from taking steps toward a possible bankruptcy filing covering liabilities from thousands of personal-injury claims, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. A committee representing talc-injury claimants said in court papers filed Tuesday that it needed a federal court order forbidding J&J from any “corporate machinations” that would isolate talc liabilities from the rest of the business. J&J has told personal-injury lawyers it is considering placing a corporate subsidiary with talc liabilities in bankruptcy as a way to resolve thousands of personal-injury lawsuits. Placing a corporate affiliate in bankruptcy would give J&J powerful legal tools to drive settlements of thousands of lawsuits linking Johnson’s baby powder to ovarian cancer and the asbestos cancer mesothelioma. The injury claimants disclosed the request for a restraining order in the bankruptcy proceedings of a separate company, Imerys Talc America Inc., which supplied talc to J&J and is named as a co-defendant in pending talc lawsuits. Overwhelmed by the litigation, Imerys filed for bankruptcy in 2019 and has proposed a settlement with injury claimants that isn’t supported by J&J. Read more.
In related news, A U.S. congressional panel has asked Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) to provide it all documents related to the company's plans to put its talc liabilities into bankruptcy, according to a letter sent on Wednesday and seen by Reuters. Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform's subcommittee on economic and consumer policy, wrote that the panel is trying to learn how J&J's plans may affect people who have said they were harmed by the company's baby powder. Krishnamoorthi also asked J&J to turn over documents showing how much funding it would provide to the new entity. The level of funding could determine payouts for victims. The healthcare company faces legal actions from tens of thousands of plaintiffs, including women suffering from ovarian cancer and others with mesothelioma, alleging that its baby powder and other talc products contained asbestos and caused cancer. Read more.
