Johnson & Johnson Subsidiary Seeks Bankruptcy Protection to Deal


Johnson & Johnson announced on Thursday that a subsidiary it recently created to manage claims that its talc-based products cause cancer has filed for bankruptcy protection.

The company said in a statement that it hopes filing for Chapter 11 protection will help resolve current and future claims “fairly for all parties.”

J&J. He said he would provide money to the subsidiary whatever amount the bankruptcy court decides he owed, thereby creating a $2 billion trust. Some royalty income streams were allocated to the subsidiary to pay future costs, he added.

Beasley Allen Law Firm attorney Andy Birchfield, who is working on the case against Johnson & Johnson, said in a statement that the company’s filing was “an attempt to hide behind bankruptcy.”

“It stinks,” he said. “J.&J. can run but not hide.”

Mr Birchfield likened the application to similar movements. America’s Scouts and USA Gymnasticsfiled for bankruptcy this year while facing legal claims.

“Here’s another example of the rich and powerful using bankruptcy as a hiding place to protect their profits and avoid liability,” he said. “The entire nation, Congress, and more than 30,000 victims of J.&J.’s dangerous talc product say ‘no’ to this blatant and fraudulent abuse of the bankruptcy system.”

Michael Ullmann, Johnson & Johnson’s vice president and general counsel, said the company “continues to stand firmly behind the safety of our cosmetic talc products.”

“We are taking these measures to bring certainty to all parties involved in cosmetic talk cases,” he said.

This move is the latest twist in the saga of the company’s talc-based products, including its iconic baby powder. Johnson & Johnson stopped selling its products in North America last year as it faces thousands of lawsuits by customers who say its products cause cancer.

The company said its subsidiary, LTL Management, will now take on the burden of the claims. Johnson & Johnson itself and its other subsidiaries have not filed for bankruptcy protection and will “continue their business as usual”, he said.

John Kim, LTL’s chief legal officer, said in a statement that with the financial support of the parent company, the subsidiary “is confident that all parties will be treated equally in this process”.

Johnson & Johnson said its filing was “not a concession of liability, but rather a means of achieving a fair and efficient resolution of the allegations made in the cosmetic talk lawsuit.”

While it won in some cases, the company suffered heavy losses in court over other claims. In June, a Missouri appeals court ordered the company to pay $2.1 billion in damages to women who said its talc products, including baby powder, caused ovarian cancers.

in 2018Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay $4.69 billion to 22 women and their families who said they had developed ovarian cancer from asbestos in the company’s talcum powder products.



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