Johnson & Johnson Is At a Disadvantage In New Jersey Bankruptcy Court

Johnson & Johnson preferred a North Carolina venue for its “Texas Two-Step” bankruptcy maneuver as that judge had experience with it and the new judge does not

Wednesday, December 8, 2021 - Judge Michael Kaplan may think that the legal maneuver called the "Texas two-step," is "just a way for rich companies to manipulate the bankruptcy system to skirt the financial consequences of harmful products," according to NJ.com. The latest scoop about Johnson and Johnson's talcum powder cancer lawsuits is that a New Jersey bankruptcy judge has all but rejected the company's attempt at settling more than 38000 talcum powder ovarian cancer cases against them for pennies on the dollar. The company has already paid out $3.5 billion in mostly punitive damage jury awards in more than a dozen plaintiff verdicts. The judge feels that attempts at a settlement would be a waste of time given how far apart the two sides are and that the plaintiff groups are fighting to force Johnson & Johnson to take legal responsibility. The judge may also be hinting at the absurdity of settling the remaining 38,000 cases for a mere $2 billion, the amount of money with which the company funded the spin-off.

One plaintiff's group wants the New Jersey Federal Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan to throw out Johnson & Johnson's attempt to reorganize their legal liabilities into a separate, bankrupt entity that would shield the company from the massive liability they have created, and force the trials against them that have been temporarily suspended to resume. MedTruth.com tells readers, "U.S. Federal Bankruptcy Judge Michael B. Kaplan has questioned whether having both parties spend money on formal settlement talks makes much sense while plaintiff advocates continue to oppose mediation. During a hearing on Nov. 22, Judge Kaplan stated, "I can order it tomorrow, but I don't have any great anticipation," referring to the odds of significant progress being made. Judge Kaplan commented that if there were to be settlement talks, "I'd rather have their hearts and souls in it." The judge will hold a hearing on January 4, 2022, to decide whether or not Johnson & Johnson acted in bad faith and if the bankruptcy request should be denied.

Johnson & Johnson has long denied that their talcum powder contained asbestos. Time after time defense attorneys would tell reporters that their iconic brand of talcum powder was safe, pure, and asbestos-free, but FDA and other independent asbestos tests show otherwise. The company has been shown to have manipulated scientific research in the past by selecting the scientists that performed talcum powder asbestos testing and also ghost-writing the final reports made to the FDA. The reports that were presented to the Food and Drug Administration were white-washed leading the agency to conclude that no talcum powder cancer warning label needed to be placed on bottles of Johnson's Baby Powder. That deception allowed the company to sell talcum powder to women and mothers of babies for decades and to profit tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars for more than half a century. The company told consumers that the product was as safe as possible as the iconic Johnson's Baby Powder baby's picture on the bottle implied.

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