Dentro del tribunal
The first high profile trial related to these claims was in 2013, where plaintiffs’ counsel alleged that use of talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder and Johnson & Johnson’s former product Shower to Shower caused a woman to develop ovarian cancer. Si bien el jurado falló en contra de la empresa, no otorgó ninguna indemnización.
Since then, there have been several additional trials where juries have awarded significant verdicts against Johnson & Johnson, but many of those verdicts have been overturned on appeal.
Following those initial cases, trial lawyers have since shifted their theory, alleging that Johnson & Johnson’s talc contains asbestos. (El primer caso de mesotelioma se juzgó en el otoño de 2017).
These latest claims go back to flawed news stories in the 1970’s that claimed to detect asbestos in talc based on unreliable methodology. After those reports, an investigation by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, as well as independent testing, contributed to the development of more reliable testing methodologies and confirmed that there was no asbestos in our talcum powder products. Plaintiffs’ attorneys seek to bring back an issue that has already been resolved.
Varios de estos casos, que en parte se basan en la información anterior de la década de 1970, ya han pasado a juicio. In the majority of cases that reached a jury verdict, the juries have voted in favor of Johnson & Johnson; in others, juries have not been able to reach a verdict; in a small minority of others, the juries have voted in favor of the plaintiffs— including awarding some very large dollar amounts.
With all of the legal cases and the expectation that trial lawyers would continue to bring additional cases against Johnson & Johnson for years to come, the Company established a separate subsidiary, LLT Management LLC (formerly known as LTL Management LLC) (“LLT”), in octubre de 2021. LLT is responsible for holding and managing all liabilities related to Johnson & Johnson’s talc litigation in North America. Also in octubre de 2021, LLT voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, activating a process designed to equitably and efficiently resolve all talc claims in North America for all parties, including anyone who may have current or future legal claims against the Company. Chapter 11 is a well-established and lawful process in the U.S. to bring parties together to negotiate a resolution to litigation.
The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit dismissed this original filing on legal grounds in a enero de 2023 ruling, and LLT re-filed for voluntary bankruptcy protection in abril de 2023 in the same court. The re-filed case addressed concerns cited by the Third Circuit’s dismissal and included a reorganization plan that provided for up to $8.9 billion in settlement payments that was supported by at least 60000 current claimants.
In julio de 2023, the New Jersey Bankruptcy Court granted the plaintiffs’ motion to dismiss LLT’s re-filed bankruptcy case. In its dismissal, the Court recognized that the Company and LLT had made “remarkable progress” towards “a fair, efficient and expeditious settlement” for all claimants and “strongly encouraged” the pursuit of a comprehensive resolution through another bankruptcy.
The Company and LLT followed that directive and, on 1 mayo 2024, announced a new proposed Plan of Reorganization (the “Plan”) to fully and finally resolve all current and future claims related to ovarian cancer arising from cosmetic talc litigation against Johnson & Johnson and its affiliates in the United States. The Plan was developed with the assistance and support of counsel representing the overwhelming majority of current claimants, and differed significantly from the prior reorganization plans as it allowed claimants to participate in a solicitation period to vote on the Plan and have their voice heard – something that was previously denied to them by lawyers representing a small minority of claimants.
As a result of the solicitation process, which was conducted by Epiq Bankruptcy Solutions LLC, Red River Talc LLC (“Red River”), a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson that subsequently became responsible for holding and managing North American legal claims related to the Company’s cosmetic talc, secured support from approximately 83% of the claimants, surpassing the 75% vote threshold required to confirm the Plan. The Plan is also supported by the Future Claims Representative, who is an attorney that represents future claimants.
Given the voting results and support from other parties, on 20 septiembre 2024, Red River commenced a voluntary prepackaged Chapter 11 case in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. Red River filed the case to confirm the Plan, which, after extensive negotiations with claimants’ counsel, had been modified to increase contributions to the settlement by $1.75 billion to approximately $8 billion. As part of that, Red River agreed to commit an additional $1.1 billion to the bankruptcy trust for distribution to claimants. The Company backed Red River’s commitments and agreed to contribute an additional $650 million to resolve the claims for common benefit fund amounts advanced by plaintiffs’ counsel in leadership roles in the multi-district litigation, where the vast majority of filed ovarian claims are pending. In aggregate, the contemplated settlement represents a present value of approximately $8 billion to be paid over 25 years, totaling approximately $10 billion nominal.
The Plan enables a full and final resolution of the Company’s ovarian talc litigation, resolving 99.75% of all pending talc lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson and its U.S. affiliates. The 0.25% remaining pending talc lawsuits relate to mesothelioma and are being addressed outside of the Plan. The Company has already resolved 95% of mesothelioma lawsuits filed to date.
The Company previously reached settlement agreements to resolve the State consumer protection claims and all talc-related claims against it in the bankruptcy cases filed by suppliers of the Company’s talc (Imerys Talc America, Inc., Cyprus Mines Corporation, and their related parties).
