NEW YORK, May 2 — Johnson & Johnson said on Wednesday it is moving forward with a US$6.48 billion (RM30 billion) proposed settlement of tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that its baby powder and other talc products contain asbestos and cause ovarian cancer.
The deal would allow it to resolve the lawsuits through a third bankruptcy filing of a subsidiary company, J&J said.
J&J will begin a three-month voting period in hopes of reaching consensus on a settlement of all current and future ovarian cancer claims. Those claims account for 99 per cent of the talc-related lawsuits filed against J&J, including about 54,000 centralised in a New Jersey federal court proceeding.
Courts have rebuffed J&J’s two previous efforts to resolve the lawsuits through the bankruptcy of the subsidiary created to absorb the company’s talc liability, ruling that the company was not eligible for bankruptcy protection because it was not in “financial distress.”
J&J, which says its products do not contain asbestos and do not cause cancer, said its settlement is supported by attorneys representing the majority of plaintiffs who have filed cancer lawsuits against the company.
Erik Haas, J&J’s worldwide vice-president of litigation, said gathering votes before a bankruptcy filing would allow the new plan to succeed where J&J’s past efforts faltered.
“The claimants get to vote, and that’s the major difference here,” Haas said in a Wednesday call with investors, referring to legal challenges that resulted in courts dismissing J&J’s previous subsidiary bankruptcy filings before the ballot stage.
J&J said it is confident the deal will garner support from the 75 per cent of outstanding claimants needed for a bankruptcy settlement that would end the litigation entirely, including future lawsuits, and prevent people from opting out of the deal to pursue separate claims.
J&J said it will continue to defend itself against the lawsuits while trying to gather votes on the settlement. The company said it has prevailed in 95 per cent of ovarian cases tried to date, including every one tried over the last six years.
It has stopped selling talc-based baby powder in favour of cornstarch-based products, citing an increase in lawsuits and “misinformation” about the talc product’s safety.
— Reuters
