One of the most complicated tort trials in history continues to unfold in a Texas bankruptcy court. The cases against Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder and its alleged link to illnesses caused by asbestos-contaminated talc have ground on for the better part of a decade. Finally, after years of legal wrangling, the case is poised for a significant hearing on February 18 with US Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez.
This bankruptcy hearing will determine whether Johnson & Johnson’s proposed settlement plan can move forward and whether the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case will survive dismissal. For tens of thousands of cancer victims, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
The Department of Justice, as an overseer of bankruptcy cases, filed its own motion to dismiss the Chapter 11 bankruptcy trial in November 2024, arguing that despite the settlement plan agreed to by plaintiffs, there is “no legitimate purpose in allowing the Debtor to remain in bankruptcy while it pursues a futile strategy”.
J&J’s Texas-based subsidiary, Red River Talc LLC, is now the entity claiming bankruptcy and offering the settlement originally proposed by the LTL Management entity earlier this year, and has set aside nearly $12 billion to settle the mesothelioma claims against it.
Last August, 75 percent of plaintiffs voiced their support for a $6.5 billion settlement paid out over 25 years by then LTL Management (now Red River). After a second round in September for an increased amount of $8 billion, over 83 percent of plaintiffs voted to accept the plan.
While most attorneys representing victims in the case have supported the vote’s conclusions, others have pounced on rejecting the vote in the hopes of extracting a larger settlement. Now that Johnson & Johnson has increased the settlement amount to over $9 billion, there is some hope that victims and their families can have closure in this case.
Considering the tens of thousands of Americans involved in this case who’ve claimed injuries and cancer diagnoses, including many who’ve battled in the courts for years, the prospect of a resolution should bring relief and comfort. Indeed, they deserve it.
The multi-district litigation has advanced through multiple courts for over a decade, continuously denying victims their ability to finally receive just compensation.
Considering the legal teams in this case could receive up to a third of the final settlement, it’s no wonder that the case has continued on in a byzantine fashion.
For years, Americans have been exposed to hundreds of commercials related to baby powder cases, used by injury attorneys to grow their roster of plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Even now, many legal firms around the country are still advertising talc claims to potential victims, hoping to continuously beef up their client count.
This practice of mass tort advertising and recruitment is standard fare in today’s legal system and has been largely responsible for delivering some of the largest settlements to date. Of course, this comes at the cost of precious time to victims and the legal system as a whole. The ongoing Johnson & Johnson case, unfortunately, will be no different.
Ossowski writes about legal reform and is deputy director of the Consumer Choice Center.