As Main Street Law Firm has previously reported, Johnson & Johnson faces legal actions from women suffering from ovarian cancer and others with mesothelioma, alleging that its baby powder contained asbestos and caused cancer. There are approximately 29,000 talc claims currently pending in Federal Court alleging a link between J & J’s talc to ovarian cancer and asbestos cancer mesothelioma. The company stopped selling its talc products in the U.S. and Canada in May of last year (1).

While continuing to deny liability for devastating injuries to thousands of women, J & J is pursuing questionable financial and legal tactics to potentially avoid this very liability. According to Reuters, J & J has  to assign all of its potential liabilities from the talc litigation to a new company and then have the new company file for bankruptcy protection.

A U.S. House of representatives subcommittee is currently exploring J & J’s possible liability shielding strategy, commonly known in legal circles as the “Texas Two Step.” Raja Krishnamoorthi, Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform's subcommittee on economic and consumer policy, stated that the panel is determining, among other things, how much money J & J would put into this new company to provide compensation for victims of its talcum powder. Attorneys for the injured plaintiffs in this matter are also pursuing legal challenges to J & J’s seemingly unethical proposal.

By placing this separate company into bankruptcy, J & J would be granted an automatic stay on all on-going talc litigation and move settlement negotiations to less plaintiff-favorable bankruptcy court. Whether J & J’s questionable strategy will be successful or not is still yet to be determined. Nevertheless, our firm continues to pursue claims on behalf of the injured parties.

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If you, like thousands of other women, have used talcum powder regularly and subsequently developed ovarian cancer or mesothelioma, you may be eligible for compensation without ever going to court. To see if you are eligible, click HERE for more information and to complete a short intake and a legal representative will contact you to review your case. We don’t get paid unless you do.

References

1. https://www.npr.org/2020/05/19/859182015/johnson-johnson-stops-selling-talc-based-baby-powder-in-u-s-and-canada
2. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/exclusive-jj-exploring-putting-talc-liabilities-into-bankruptcy-sources-2021-07-18/

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