Jakarta –
Global consumer company Johnson & Johnson is said to be exploring a plan to reduce liability from the baby powder case that the company is currently undergoing. The company is said to be seeking protection by pursuing bankruptcy plans in order to generate lower payouts for cases not resolved earlier.
This is known from the source of seven people who know the problem. Citing Reuters, Monday (7/19/2021) it was stated that the decision was taken in a discussion.
During the discussion, one of J&J’s attorneys informed the plaintiffs’ attorneys that J&J could pursue a bankruptcy plan, which could result in lower payouts for cases not previously resolved.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys were unable to stop J&J from taking that step, although they could take legal action to challenge it later. On the other hand, NOT A WORD has not yet decided whether to pursue the bankruptcy plan or not to implement the idea.
As is known, J&J is facing lawsuits from tens of thousands of plaintiffs who allege baby powder and other talc products contain asbestos and cause cancer. The plaintiffs include women with ovarian cancer and others battling mesothelioma. In May 2020, the company stopped selling the baby powder in the US and Canada.
“Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. has not decided on any specific course of action in this case other than to continue to defend the safety of the talc and is filing this case in the tort system, as the pending trial shows,” the J&J subsidiary that manufactures the company’s talc said in a statement. .
J&J declined to comment further. It is currently planning to use the Texas “division merger” Act, under which a company can be split into two entities. The maneuver is known among legal experts as Texas two-step bankruptcy, a strategy other companies have used to deal with asbestos litigation in recent years.
In June, the US Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal NOT A WORD for a Missouri court ruling that resulted in a $2 billion loss awarded to women who accused the company’s powder of causing their ovarian cancer.
In addition to baby powder, J&J was also hit by a scandal over the alleged content of benzene, carcinogens and others in spray sunscreen products. So the company agreed in June to pay $263 million to settle opioid claims in New York. It also denied any wrongdoing related to the opioids in the product.
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