Lawyers From Both Sides React To The Reversal Of The Johnson & Johnson Bankruptcy Scheme

Johnson & Johnson will continue to challenge the reversal ruling as thousands of talcum powder cancer lawsuits are revived

Thursday, February 2, 2023 - Now that the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia has rejected the Johnson & Johnson talcum powder bankruptcy scheme, reactions are coming forth from both sides. On the one hand, plaintiff attorneys, legal scholars, and US Democratic lawmakers are pleased that more than 38,000 women with ovarian cancer will get their day in court. The three-judge panel concluded that The LTL Management subsidiary "was created solely to access the bankruptcy system and not because it faced financial distress." "Good intentions - such as to protect the J&J brand or comprehensively resolve litigation - do not suffice alone," the judges said in a 56-page opinion," according to MSNBC. Johnson & Johnson attorneys weighed in promising to challenge the bankruptcy rejection decision. "As we have said from the beginning of this process, resolving this matter as quickly and efficiently as possible is in the best interests of claimants and all stakeholders," J&J spokeswoman Allison Fennell said. "We continue to stand behind the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder, which is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer," according to CNN. "Bankruptcy courts are for honest companies in financial distress, not billionaire mega-corporations like J&J," said Jon Ruckdeschel, a lawyer representing talc plaintiffs," MSNBC wrote. Talcum powder cancer lawyers continue to interview people with ovarian cancer that have used talcum powder regularly for many years.

Tens of thousands of talcum powder cancer lawsuits were put on hold for about a year while the courts grappled with the legality of the Johnson & Johson bankruptcy scheme. Active lawsuits against the Johnson & Johnson parent company are set to resume with the reversal of the New Jersey bankruptcy court decision to allow LTL management to enter bankruptcy. The cases are organized into multidistrict litigation (MDL) under U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp who took over upon the abrupt retirement of U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson. The basis for the majority of talcum powder lawsuits is that women were sold on the safety of using Johnson's Baby Powder on their infant, while in fact, Johnson & Johnson according to one Reuters report, knew that asbestos, a deadly carcinogen, lurked in the company's talc. Juries in past years have awarded lottery-like punitive damage awards to plaintiffs dying from ovarian cancer after being incensed by the testimony that Johnson & Johnson executive knew they had an asbestos problem back in 1971 and failed to warn consumers. Instead, the company shifted its advertising fearing that if mothers became aware of even a hint of a carcinogen possibly being in their baby powder, they would never use it. The company targeted Black women in the more humid southern states to use the product for feminine hygiene. Thousands of women developed ovarian cancer after using the product on their peritoneal region for decades. One Johnson's Baby Powder ovarian cancer lawsuit awarded 22 women $2.1 billion and the decision held up on appeal. The US Supreme Court refused to hear the case.

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