A bankruptcy judge said he would consider appointing an independent expert to assist in evaluating the mass claims linking Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based baby powder to cancer, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Judge Michael Kaplan of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey on Wednesday floated the idea of appointing an outside expert to help him wade through legal, financial and scientific questions around allegations that J&J’s talc products contained asbestos and caused ovarian cancer. Personal-injury lawyers and the healthcare company disagree about how much those tort claims are worth. J&J has denied that its baby powder was unsafe but moved its talc-related liabilities into chapter 11 in October to drive a settlement of roughly 40,000 pending talc cases as well as future injury claims. J&J created subsidiary LTL Management LLC to carry those or the company’s talc liabilities into chapter 11, keep its consumer-health business out of bankruptcy and freeze lawsuits in place. Plaintiffs’ lawyers have decried the bankruptcy filing, saying it will deny injury claimants their constitutional right to a jury trial. J&J has said that victims can be compensated more quickly and efficiently in a chapter 11 plan than through costly litigation in the tort system. Judge Kaplan agreed with J&J in February that the chapter 11 was filed in good faith and for a valid reorganizational purpose. A federal appeals court is now reviewing those findings. Meanwhile, mediated talks are continuing, though both sides appear to be at an impasse regarding a settlement proposal mediators have put forth, according to Judge Kaplan, who said he was considering how to move the process forward and encourage a resolution.
