Johnson & Johnson Subsidiary Asks to Extend Ch. 11 Stay of Litigation to Pause Talc Injury Cases

Johnson & Johnson Talc Injury Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: LTL Management has asked a court to extend a Chapter 11 stay of litigation to its parent company, Johnson & Johnson. 
• Why: The plaintiff alleges the tens of thousands of talc injury claims pending against it should not be allowed to proceed as the companies face the same claims. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit is pending in North Carolina federal court.

LTL Management LLC, a bankrupt subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, says it needs to extend the Chapter 11 stay of litigation to its parent company, saying that without a pause in thousands of talc litigation cases the bankruptcy case would be pointless in handling its billions of dollars in liability, according to a motion filed in North Carolina court. 

“To allow these tens of thousands of pending tort claims to proceed outside of Chapter 11 would—given the debtor’s indemnification obligations to J&J, other non-debtor affiliates, and other protected parties—effectively lift the Section 362 automatic stay of litigation against the debtor, the real party in interest,” LTL said in the filing. “At the same time, it would usurp this court’s ability to preside over this case and consider and approve any resolution of the claims proposed herein. This unprecedented result would, contrary to Fourth Circuit precedent, defeat the purpose of this case.”

The filing states LTL Management is besieged by talc claims premised largely on the false allegation that Johnson’s Baby Powder, a staple for hundreds of millions of people for over 125 years, contained asbestos and caused cancer. 

However, the company says these claims have no valid scientific basis as the safety of cosmetic-grade talc has been confirmed by independent experts, as well as governmental and regulatory bodies. 

Despite these findings, some plaintiffs have won cases against LTL. This has resulted in the company incurring nearly $1 billion in defense costs on account of cosmetic talc litigation, nearly all of which has been spent in only the last five years, and over $3.5 billion in payments, the filing states. As claimants continue to file suits, “such efforts “would undoubtedly interfere with, and almost surely end, the debtor’s reorganization.”

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge J. Craig Whitley issued a temporary restraining order last month barring the prosecution of claims against several non-debtor entities but left J&J and its parent company — Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., or New JJCI — off the list of protected parties until a preliminary injunction hearing can be held later this month.

To see if you qualify to join the Johnson & Johnson baby powder class action lawsuit investigation click here (links to paid attorney advertisement).

The plaintiff is represented by C. Richard Rayburn, Jr., John R. Miller, Jr. and Matthew L. Tomsic of Rayburn Cooper & Durham, P.A. and Gregory M. Gordon, Dan B. Prieto and Amanda Rush of Jones Day. 

The LTL Talc Injury Class Action Lawsuit is LTL Management LLC, et al. v. Those Parties Listed on Appendix A to Complaint and John and Jane Does 1-1000, Case No. 21-30589, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Costco, Johnson & Johnson Reach Class Action Settlement Over Carcinogenic Sunscreen Accusations
• Procter & Gamble Sold Old Spice, Secret Antiperspirant Sprays Containing Benzene, New Class Action Claims
• Automatic Stay of Litigation Should Be Granted to Johnson & Johnson Over Baby Powder Talc Claims, Says Newly-created Debtor
• Benzene Contamination Found in Sunscreen, Antifungal, Antiperspirant Spray Products