For years, Johnson & Johnson has been defending itself in court from claims by consumers that its talc powder products cause cancer. The company’s latest effort to resolve those liabilities in a huge settlement has hit a roadblock.
A bankruptcy judge in Houson has dismissed a J&J affiliate’s Chapter 11 case, objecting to how the pharmaceutical giant persuaded consumers who were part of lawsuits against the company to accept the settlement.
J&J has argued that its talc products are safe but that bankruptcy was the best way to resolve the case in consumers’ best interests. Rather than appeal, J&J attorneys said they would go back to court to counter each claim.
Adam Silverstein, a lawyer representing personal-injury law firms seekingto blockl J&J’s bankruptcy, told the Wall Street Journal that J&J’s strategy has been to “wear down victims through delay tactics.
Years of litigation
In 2020, J&J announced it was permanently discontinuing about 100 of its products, and Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder was one of them. At the time, the product had been the object of thousands of lawsuits from longtime users who claimed the powder causes cancer.
Johnson & Johnson has vigorously denied those claims but has acknowledged that the litigation has hurt North American sales.
Prior to that decision, J&J lost several court cases, facing the company with massive damages. In 2017, a jury in California awarded a 63-year-old woman $417 million after hearing that she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer after using J&J's talcum powder.
At the time, J&J faced more than 5,000 lawsuits over its talc products. It lost four cases in St. Louis courts totaling more than $300 million.