Johnson & Johnson re-files LTL case, offers $8.9 billion contribution

By Sarah Lizee

Olympia, Wash., April 4 – Johnson & Johnson announced that subsidiary LTL Management LLC has re-filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, according to a Tuesday afternoon press release.

LTL’s original Chapter 11 case was dismissed earlier Tuesday by judge Michael B. Kaplan. The dismissal followed a decision from the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that said the case had been filed in bad faith.

The parent company is still trying to obtain approval of a reorganization plan for LTL that will resolve claims arising from cosmetic talc litigation against Johnson & Johnson and its affiliates in North America.

Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday that it is now offering to contribute up to $8.9 billion, payable over 25 years, to resolve all the current and future talc claims. This is an increase of $6.9 billion over the $2 billion previously committed in connection with LTL’s initial bankruptcy filing in October 2021.

The parent company said LTL also has secured commitments from over 60,000 current claimants to support a global resolution on these terms.

“The company continues to believe that these claims are specious and lack scientific merit,” Erik Haas, worldwide vice president of litigation for Johnson & Johnson, said in the release.

“However, as the bankruptcy court recognized, resolving these cases in the tort system would take decades and impose significant costs on LTL and the system, with most claimants never receiving any compensation.

“Resolving this matter through the proposed reorganization plan is both more equitable and more efficient, allows claimants to be compensated in a timely manner, and enables the company to remain focused on our commitment to profoundly and positively impact health for humanity.”

Talc committee response

Just before the initial case was dismissed on Tuesday, the official committee of talc claimants warned the court of the second bankruptcy filing in an end-of-case statement.

“As with their ‘Texas two-step,’ any second bankruptcy filing will be another step in their misconduct, framed as ‘restructuring’ and guised under the auspices of the bankruptcy code,” the committee said in the statement.

“Johnson & Johnson is free to settle with any group of plaintiffs at any time. But constructing yet another bankruptcy, on behalf of a solvent nearly half-trillion-dollar company, is solely intended to coerce and foist further delay on victims who continue to suffer and die from diseases caused by Johnson & Johnson’s talc products.”

The Beasley Allen law firm, which represents thousands of ovarian cancer and mesothelioma victims, said in a Tuesday afternoon press release that it is ready for a swift return to trials in federal and state civil courts.

Johnson & Johnson is a consumer products company based in New Brunswick, N.J. The LTL Management subsidiary filed its initial Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition under case number 21-30589. The case number for the new petition is 23-12825.

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