Johnson & Johnson and a committee of cancer victims have agreed to speed up a court appeal of their fight regarding whether the health-care giant can use bankruptcy to end as many as 100,000 talc-related claims.
The move could cut months off the appeals process. The first time the two sides fought about the issue, it took about a year and resulted in the bankruptcy case being dismissed.
Now, J&J intends to appeal a decision by US Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan to throw out the insolvency case of LTL Management, the unit the company created in order to try to resolve tens of thousands of cancer lawsuits.
Typically, such bankruptcy appeals first go to a federal district court. With Kaplan gearing up to likely sign a final order dismissing the bankruptcy case next week — for the second time — both J&J and the committee of cancer victims want the federal appeals court to take up the matter.
Read More: J&J Cancer Lawsuit Strategy Tossed By Bankruptcy Judge
Lawsuits
The cancer lawsuits have been on hold since J&J put LTL into bankruptcy for the first time in 2021. After that case was dismissed, J&J struck a deal with tens of thousands of claimants and put LTL back into bankruptcy, only to have that case struck down as well.
Once the case is shut down, cancer victims can begin pressing for jury trials around the country instead of waiting for LTL’s Chapter 11 case to be resolved.
J&J’s appeal is expected to take at least several months to resolve, even if it’s expedited. An appeals court in Philadelphia ordered the dismissal of LTL’s first talc Chapter 11 case in January after the earlier appeal was also fast-tracked. That was still almost a year after Judge Kaplan rejected injury claimants’ first try at dismissing the company’s original talc bankruptcy.
J&J had tried to use the bankruptcy to press cancer victims to drop their claims and accept an $8.9 billion settlement. The victims claim talc in baby powder and similar products is tainted with a toxic substance and causes cancer.
The company maintains that its strategy is designed to fairly and equitably compensate injury claimants, many of whom have lost at trial or will have to wait years before having an opportunity to present their cases to a jury. J&J has denied liability in the lawsuits and has said that its talc-based products are safe.
The new bankruptcy filing is LTL Management LLC, 23-12825, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey (Trenton).
