J&J proposing to pay $6.5B to resolve almost all talc ovarian cancer suits 

A subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is offering to pay nearly $6.5 billion to resolve nearly all of the talc ovarian cancer lawsuits filed against the company.

J&J The plan for the subsidiary was as follows. The company will pay about $6.475 billion over 25 years to resolve most of the pending lawsuits alleging that its brand of baby powder, which contains talc, caused ovarian cancer. The company announced it would resolve 99.75 percent of the pending lawsuits filed against J&J and its affiliates over the allegations.

The company also announced in 2022 that it would stop selling talc-based baby powder in 2023, amid an ongoing legal battle over the product.

“This plan is the culmination of the consensual resolution strategy we announced last October,” said Eric Haas, J&J’s vice president of worldwide litigation. “Since then, we have been working with attorneys representing the vast majority of talc claimants to bring this litigation to a close, and we look forward to doing so through this plan.”

J&J’s restructuring plan announced Wednesday differs slightly from an earlier proposal submitted by subsidiary LLT Management. The company said the new strategy will give claimants a three-month solicitation period during which they can vote for or against the new proposal.

J&J said that if 75% of ovarian cancer claimants approve, the subsidiary could file for an agreed-upon, ‘pre-packaged’ Chapter 11 bankruptcy to ensure approval. There is a gender,” he said.

“Unlike previous litigation, what determines whether a plan proceeds is not the competing economic incentives of a small number of plaintiffs’ attorneys who stand to receive exorbitant legal fees outside of a reorganization; “This is their vote,” Haas said. .

J&J said the remaining personal injury cases are related to mesothelioma and will be handled outside the scope of the new proposal. The company also reiterated that it stands by talc-based products.

“The talc claims asserted against us are based on frivolous lawsuits and extreme verdicts obtained through forum shopping by plaintiff attorneys, distortion of scientific literature by junk science, and unregulated and secretive approach to product litigation by U.S. companies.” “It illustrates the profound impact that behind-the-scenes financing has on American companies, including private equity and sovereign wealth funds,” Haas said.