A group representing people alleging that Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based products cause cancer said on Friday that the planned spinoff of the pharmaceutical giant’s consumer health division will create new problems for talc claimants, Reuters reported. The group, known as the talc claimants’ committee, filed a statement with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, where the chapter 11 case of J&J’s subsidiary that holds its talc liabilities was transferred this month. The subsidiary, LTL Management LLC, filed for bankruptcy protection in October with the goal of settling 38,000 talc cases. J&J maintains that its talc products are safe. In Friday’s statement, the committee said that J&J’s plan to split its consumer division from its pharmaceuticals business “would create further barriers between tort claimants and assets that should be available to satisfy claims.” It contends that if J&J becomes two separately traded entities, disputes will arise over which one will be on the hook for a funding agreement in the LTL bankruptcy. The committee also accused J&J of using the bankruptcy process as a litigation advantage. J&J said when it announced the split that the move had nothing to do with the talc litigation or the bankruptcy. A status conference is scheduled on Monday before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan in Trenton, New Jersey.
