A Judge Will Soon Decide When Talcum Powder Lawsuits May Proceed And If Multiple Plaintiffs Per Trial Will Be Allowed

Johnson & Johnson may seek to delay the September 6 decision by trying to bankrupt their talcum powder cancer claim subsidiary a third time

Sunday, August 27, 2023 - About 60,000 people with ovarian cancer or mesothelioma have filed lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson and are awaiting their day in court. Trials for individuals with one or more terminal baby powder illnesses were first delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic where the legal system was among the first institutions to be locked down and locked out. After the court system reopened, Johnson & Johnson attempted to place their tens of billions of talcum powder lawsuits into a shell company separate from the parent company to insulate their $400 billion war chest from legal claims. Twice the company has attempted to have their assets sheltered in the bankruptcy court and twice they have failed. What the company has succeeded in doing, however, is to have the trials against them that were in progress stopped dead in their tracks, and also to halt any future trials from starting. It has been nearly three years since a full docket of talcum powder cancer trials was conducted. Plaintiff lawyers now seek to restart the trials in multi-district litigation with multiple plaintiffs. Johnson & Johnson attempted to implement the Texas Two Step bankruptcy scheme and may try a third time. Judges determined that the company's attempt at bankruptcy was more to shelter its assets than to protect a company in financial distress.

Plaintiff lawyers, Congressional lawmakers, and legal scholars all voiced their opposition to the plan. Many think that if Johnson & Johnson were allowed to exploit lenient Texas bankruptcy laws, other companies accused of negligence may also deny injured consumers their day in court. "The Texas two-step allows companies to cherry-pick the most debtor-friendly laws, rather than adhering to the bankruptcy code that is supposed to provide uniform rules across the country" claims David Skeel, a bankruptcy expert at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Skeel contends that this behavior compromises the predictability and fairness of the bankruptcy system, which is meant to give creditors and debtors an equal playing field. The Texas two-step bankruptcy plan has also come under fire for potentially harming creditors who might not be informed of the company's plans to move the case to another state. As a result, creditors may be less protected and have fewer options for getting their money back. "The Texas two-step is a way for companies to take advantage of the bankruptcy system, and it can hurt creditors who are left with fewer options for recovering their debts," says Mark Roe, a bankruptcy expert at Harvard Law School. According to Reuters, Johnson & Johnson talc cancer plaintiffs want a 6-month ban on further bankruptcy filings so that the next round of talcum powder cancer trials can proceed. " Lawyers for thousands of people who claim Johnson & Johnson's talc-based powders caused them to develop cancer on Wednesday urged a U.S. judge to temporarily block the company from seeking bankruptcy protection for a third time for its talc subsidiary, Reuters, wrote.

Information provided by TalcumPowderCancerLawsuit.com, a website devoted to providing news about talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits, as well as medical research and findings.