Weekly Mass Torts Bulletin 2021-Oct-25

J&J's Subsidiary Asks To Pause Talc Suits

Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) subsidiary LTL Management LLC has asked to pause thousands of talc lawsuits against its parent company, considering Chapter 11 granted to it.

LTL Management stated in the motion that Chapter 11 gets automatically applied to Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. as both the entities face similar claims and are interlinked.

J&J filed chapter 11 by executing corporate plans to form LTL and assign all the talc liabilities to it. However, the thousands of plaintiffs across the country opposed the move to extend the bankruptcy plan to LTL's parent company, J&J.

The attorneys for the plaintiffs claim that extending the bankruptcy plan to J&J will result in prejudice towards the thousands of plaintiffs affected due to the company. It will prevent the plaintiffs from getting their share of the settlement and J&J will be free of liabilities, even though the company has billions in assets on hand.

Earlier, J&J promised to pay $2 billion that will settle  38,000 ovarian cancer and 430 mesothelioma claims due to talc exposure.

J&J and its subsidiary had been spending up to $20 million per month defending itself against the multiple lawsuits. Currently, tens of thousands of suits against J&J seek $30 billion in damages from the company.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has been cleared of liability in a lawsuit where a woman accused the company of failing to warn about the health risks associated with its talcum baby powder product.

The lawsuit made similar claims brought by women throughout the United States who accused the usage of J&J's talcum powder developed to cause ovarian cancer and other injuries to them.

The current verdict of Philadelphia results from last month's verdict in Illinois, where the cancer-diagnosed woman was awarded $26.5 million. The verdict was eventually overturned.

J&J is firm on defending its talcum products by stating that the evidence and studies reveal it is safe to use. However, in October 2019, 33,000 bottles of baby powder were recalled from the U.S. market after being tested positive for asbestos presence in it that causes cancer.

J&J faced numerous verdicts in talcum powder cancer trials in 2018 and 2019 that included a landmark trial, where 22 Missouri women diagnosed with ovarian cancer were awarded $3.9 billion in damages. The company faced punitive damages as well for withholding information about the presence of asbestos in Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower-to-Shower Powder.

U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson is overseeing all the talcum lawsuits centralized in the District Court of New Jersey. The judge has even established a "bellwether" program where a group of lawsuits will be considered for early trial dates in April 2022. It will help to prevent repetitive responses of certain evidence and testimony throughout the litigation.

Earlier, New Jersey state judge refused to block Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) so-called Texas Two-Step move that will prevent settlements for the plaintiffs diagnosed with cancer due to J&J's talcum powder products.

The plaintiffs allege that the company intends to conduct a fraudulent transaction. The judge overseeing the lawsuit said that the court cannot proceed before evaluating the fraudulent transaction claims made by the plaintiffs.

As per court documents, J&J would use the Lone Star State's "divisive merger" statute that will split the talc liabilities into a separate entity, helping the company to file for bankruptcy and keeping the productive assets in a different entity.

The plaintiffs even accused that the company would pay comparatively less amount if allowed with bankruptcy option. The brief even claimed that the thousands of women who used talc products would continue to suffer and die without getting justice because of the move.

The court's ruling stated that the narrative provided by the plaintiff's lawyers is baseless without any legal support, and it is a move to compel J&J to settle the plaintiffs' claims. J&J continues to defend its products by stating them as safe for use.

EPA To Broaden Risk Assessments of Talc

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will settle two lawsuits that allege the agency of failing to evaluate health risks of talc products containing asbestos which cause mesothelioma, lung cancer and ovarian cancer.

The agreement was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco on October 13. It demanded that EPA should perform an in-depth risk evaluation by December 2024 and launch studies alerting the risks of asbestos.

The lawsuits allege that EPA ignored the available studies that highlighted the talc products contain asbestos. It also claimed that the agency neglected the fact that consumer goods contain five other common types of asbestos. EPA is concerned about the risks of talcum powder as it contains asbestos fibers that could result in various forms of cancer and mesothelioma.

Health and advocacy organizations across the U.S. warned EPA on banning asbestos use in 2016, but still, 750 metric tons of asbestos is used throughout the nation. The ban was supported by doctors, health experts and consumers across the U.S.

The evaluation will help to document and deal with the harmful effects of asbestos. Each year, over 40,000 Americans die from the asbestos-caused illness. In 1989 EPA attempted to ban asbestos but did not succeed, and since then, over one million Americans have died because of asbestos exposure.

Earlier, New Jersey state judge refused to block Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) so-called Texas Two-Step move that will prevent settlements for the plaintiffs diagnosed with cancer due to J&J's talcum powder products.

The plaintiffs allege that the company intends to conduct a fraudulent transaction. The judge overseeing the lawsuit said that the court cannot proceed before evaluating the fraudulent transaction claims made by the plaintiffs.

As per court documents, J&J would use the Lone Star State's "divisive merger" statute that will split the talc liabilities into a separate entity, helping the company to file for bankruptcy and keeping the productive assets in a different entity.

The plaintiffs even accused that the company would pay comparatively less amount if allowed with bankruptcy option. The brief even claimed that the thousands of women who used talc products would continue to suffer and die without getting justice because of the move.

The court's ruling stated that the narrative provided by the plaintiff's lawyers is baseless without any legal support, and it is a move to compel J&J to settle the plaintiffs' claims. J&J continues to defend its products by stating them as safe for use.

Earlier, an Illinois jury granted a talcum trial verdict in favor of Johnson & Johnson by rejecting the allegations of the family members of the woman who died of ovarian cancer.

As per the court documents, the family members of the woman sought $50 million compensation by alleging that J&J's baby powder and Shower to Shower products are dangerous and resulted in ovarian cancer for the woman.

The 69-year-old woman died in September 2016, eighteen months after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

A spokesperson for J&J said in a statement that the verdict displayed careful consideration of the science and facts presented by the attorneys. He even added that the company deeply sympathizes with those who are suffering from cancer and seek answers for the same.

The plaintiff's attorney stated that there is strong evidence to conclude that genital talc leads to ovarian cancer, and the decision will not prevent them from seeking justice for several other women who are victims of the disease because of J&J's negligence and greed.

The verdict came in favor of J&J after a three-week trial in St. Clair County, Illinois.

Earlier, an executive of J&J failed to appear before the court as a witness for cross-examination in a talcum lawsuit. J&J recalled 33,000 bottles of talc-based powder in 2019, and in May 2020, discontinued its sale throughout the U.S.

J&J's talc products are one of the most popular cosmetic products throughout the country. For the past 25 years, over 12,00 women and their families have filed lawsuits against J&J alleging that the company's baby powder causes ovarian cancer.

Asbestos in talcum powder is the major cause of cancer as it is harmful to human health and can cause lifelong ailments. A study even concluded the direct linkage of talc powder to ovarian cancer.

The company is even set to settle $26 billion in the opioid MDL as ordered by the federal judge. The company will pay the settlement amount with three major pharmaceutical distributors, Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen.

Hernia Mesh Suit In Favor Of J&J, Ethicon

A federal judge has awarded a verdict in favor of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and Ethicon Inc. in a lawsuit against a woman who alleged that companies' pelvic mesh implant resulted in injuries to her.

As per the lawsuit filed by the woman in 2017, she suffered from pain, discomfort and other complications post the mesh implant. She underwent surgery in July 2008 to have her bladder removed and replace it with the implant. The implant came back and the woman underwent another surgery in December 2008 to get the mesh removed.

The woman did not sue the company until 2017. She filed the lawsuit after seeing a law firm's television commercial about pelvic mesh mass tort litigation. Initially, the case was part of a pelvic mesh multidistrict litigation, which was later transferred out as it involved a different product.

However, a senior U.S. district judge argued that the woman waited for too long to file the lawsuit as under the most generous limitations period, the plaintiff need to file the lawsuit within six years. The judge even notified that the woman underwent additional surgery in April 2015 to remove the infected mesh, but still, it was two years before the suit was filed.

The lawsuit was awarded in J&J and Ethicon's favor considering the two-year limitation period in tortious conduct and six-year statute of limitations in civil actions.

C.R. Bard has been awarded the first win in the Ventralight ST hernia mesh of Ohio, where the plaintiff accused that the company's product was defective and resulted in multiple injuries to him.

In 2015, the plaintiff got implanted the mesh to treat hernia, but soon he suffered pain and emotional distress due to the defective mesh products as per the allegations. Later, the plaintiff was required to undergo additional surgery to get the mesh removed, which was physically and mentally stressful for him.

As per the lawsuit, the plaintiff alleged that "ST" coating designed to "resorb" did not last for long as advertised by the company, which resulted in serious injuries. The lawsuit alleged the company of failing to inform the consumers about the design defects and risks associated with the products.

It is the first trial consolidated in the MDL formed in Ohio court in August 2018 against the company. On September 2, the court rejected the C.R. Bard’s pre-verdict motion, considering the evidence provided by the plaintiffs that highlight the dangers of the product to the patients.

U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. is overseeing all the product liability claims in the MDL formed in the Southern District of Ohio, where the company faces more than 8,000 lawsuits.