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At Least 38,000 Lawsuits Reinstated.
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia made a monumental judgment call on January 30, 2023 for thousands of plaintiffs participating in the talcum baby powder lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson (J&J). The federal appeals court rejected Johnson’s “merger bankruptcy” attempt in which the pharma giant, valued at an estimated half-trillion dollars, attempted to cap an onslaught of anticipated talcum powder verdicts from pending and future court trials.
The 38,000 lawsuits pending since J&J filed for Chapter 11 in October 2021 are now reinstated. Claimants charge they developed ovarian cancer, or lost a loved one to ovarian cancer, through use of asbestos-laced baby powder and other talc products.
The ruling was founded on the basis that the company’s contrived bankruptcy claim was an “improper manipulation” of the bankruptcy system. The decision also makes it harder for corporations going forward to use the Chapter 11 strategy as a blueprint for managing crushing litigation burdens from mass tort verdicts. Johnson said it plans to appeal, again declaring its products safe and asbestos-free.
Since the suspension began October 2021, additional information has emerged sealing the argument that J&J executives knew for decades their talc products were randomly laced with asbestos. Asbestos deposits naturally occur underground beside concentrations of talcum. The two minerals are impossible to separate before, during, or after mining.
If you or a loved one has been affected, there is still time to bring an immediate charge. Learn how you can file a talcum powder lawsuit for ovarian cancer after using talc-based baby powder.
The Waiting Is Over.
With most of the 38,000 cases still pending, Johnson & Johnson went looking for a way to stop the bleeding and found it in a loophole exclusive to Texas law called a divisional merger, or the “Texas Two-Step.” The so-called bankruptcy claim was filed by a global giant whose total worth is estimated at close to half a trillion dollars.
In any lawsuit, when the Defendant files a claim for bankruptcy, court proceedings are halted until the issue is resolved by a federal court ruling. As a result, the talcum powder lawsuit was suspended for 15 months. Many injured plaintiffs mistakenly assumed the bankruptcy claim actually meant Johnson had insufficient funds to pay out court awards or settlements being negotiated by their lawyers.
How It Might Have Worked.
In October 2021, J&J created a small Texas shell company with negligible operating expenses, called LTL Management. Under a unique Texas law, Johnson funded LTL with $2 billion, intending to manipulate the funds to cap a potential onslaught of litigation debt if pending and future lawsuits went to trial. One such verdict alone already cost Johnson $2 billion in 2018, a payout to 22 women who blamed their ovarian cancer on use of talc products, including baby powder.
Johnson argued that by utilizing the bankruptcy method, ovarian cancer plaintiffs would be paid some amount of compensation faster than through the courts. The amount of the payments, however, would be significantly reduced.
Next, LTL Management relocated (just three days after its establishment) to North Carolina, a state where bankruptcy laws are liberal, hoping to secure a green light to proceed. Now, after 15 months, plaintiff lawyers have won the dismissal and the courts can again move forward.
There Is Still Time to File.
If you or a loved one has been affected, there is still time to file a claim now. Contact Us to learn how you can file a talcum powder lawsuit for ovarian cancer after using talc-based baby powder and other talc products.
