Johnson & Johnson – Seeking Bankruptcy Protection

On February 7th, 2023, a federal judge ruled that Johnson & Johnson (J & J) can no longer utilize bankruptcy to block a trial taking place in California over claims that its baby powder caused the deadly cancer of a 24-year-old man. The ruling, the first of its kind since the halting of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case that the company used to pause 40,000 cancer lawsuits, is on hold as J & J appeals and attempts to negotiate a settlement. Because the ruling is on hold, victims are still required to obtain special permissions to bring their cases to trial.

Previously, cases were on hold because a judge ruled that no trials should proceed while a bankruptcy case was pending for J & J. That same judge stated that J & J had a reasonable chance of being able to utilize bankruptcy to resolve all of these lawsuits at the same time, rather than being forced to fight them one at a time across the United States. The ruling from the federal judge to allow the cases to go forward is the first of its kind.

People bringing lawsuits against J & J have alleged that baby powder tainted with asbestos causes cancer, which the company continually denies. Anthony Hernandez Valdez brought suit against J & J after he was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in 2022. He was allowed to file his lawsuit but was prevented from moving forward to trial while the bankruptcy case was proceeding.

J & J continues to plead with a federal appeals court in Philadelphia to reconsider the ruling allowing the case to move forward even though it is in bankruptcy in the hopes that J & J would continue to benefit from protections in bankruptcy. If the appeal fails, J & J may have one last chance to ask the US Supreme Court to intervene in the matter. If J & J completely fails, the bankruptcy would be completely dismissed, and all of the cases would start to go to trial. Despite hoping that the court allows their appeal, J & J is preparing in the event that they are forced to fight the lawsuits in court.

The J & J bankruptcy case is In Re: LTL Management LLC 21-30589, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of New Jersey (Trenton)

How is Johnson and Johnson baby powder connected to ovarian cancer?

A 2018 Reuters article demonstrated that Johnson & Johnson has known, since 1971, that the talcum powder it sources could contain asbestos, a known carcinogen.

This helps explain why baby powder is risky. Talc, the fine, soft mineral used to make talcum, is often extracted from mines that also contain asbestos ore, making it extremely difficult to produce a pure compound. Johnson & Johnson, like many other companies, persist in using the super-absorbent material in baby powder, despite the risks.

Though J&J claims that their talcum products are safe, it is now known that they have, repeatedly, found trace amounts of asbestos contamination in their baby powder.

Key Johnson & Johnson Lawsuit Facts

• J&J settled a case in California for $2 million in January 2020.
• The company paid $9 million in February 2020 to an 82-year-old Florida woman who allegedly developed mesothelioma after using Johnson & Johnson talc products.
  Key Johnson & Johnson Lawsuit Facts
• On May 19, 2020, J&J announced it was stopping sales of its talc-based baby powder in the U.S. and Canada.
• On June 23, 2020, a Missouri appeals court ordered J&J and a subsidiary to pay $2.1 billion to woman who allege that the company’s talcum products caused their ovarian cancer.
• J&J currently faces around 38,000 lawsuits filed alleging that its talc products have led to ovarian cancer.