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Plaintiffs Bar Not Happy with J&J's Shift of Liability to Victim Fund
A bankruptcy filing allows Johnson & Johnson to shift legal liability over its talc-based baby powder into a potential $2 billion compensation program for cancer victims, but not without a big fight from the plaintiffs bar.
A petition filed Oct. 14 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in North Carolina's Western District says Johnson & Johnson has spent $1 billion defending its baby powder in court, while juries across the country have returned unpredictable verdicts. As predicted, Johnson & Johnson used a "Texas Two-Step" merger to create a new subsidiary, LTL Management LLC, whose chief legal officer, John Kim, most recently was assistant general counsel of Johnson & Johnson.
The plan is to compensate plaintiffs with current and future tort claims through a $2 billion trust fund, according to bankruptcy filings. About 38,000 ovarian cancer cases and 430 mesothelioma lawsuits are pending against Johnson & Johnson, which would continue to fund the trust through interest, worth an estimated $367.1 million, tied to a revenue stream from its other products.
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