J&J faces 18 talc cancer trials, prompting it again to weigh bankruptcy
J&J has talc cases set for trial everywhere from Pennsylvania to California between November and December 2024, some of which involve consolidated claims by more than a half-dozen plaintiffs, according to their lawyers. Those trials were scheduled after a judge in July threw out a J&J unit’s latest Chapter 11 case aimed at resolving all current and future talc claims.
Since 2016, J&J has been hit with at least $570 million in damage awards over talc-related cancer claims and paid out at least $2.5 billion in settlements, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“With all those trials staring them in the face, of course they want their unit to run back into bankruptcy,” said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond professor who teaches about mass torts and has followed the talc cases.
“They are playing for time and to avoid shelling out the hundreds of millions of dollars on lawyers to defend all those trials.”
Another bankruptcy filing by J&J’s LTL Management subsidiary would give the company the opportunity to ask a judge to put a hold on all trials while the company once again negotiates with lawyers representing talc victims. Judges did that in the first two Chapter 11 filings by the LTL unit, but those cases were thrown out.
“We are prepared to vigorously litigate these meritless claims in the tort system, where we have prevailed in the overwhelming majority of cases tried,” J&J said in an emailed statement.
