Johnson & Johnson Reaches Deal for $8.9 Billion Talc Settlement

Johnson Johnson said on Tuesday that it had agreed to pay $8.9 billion to tens of thousands of people who claimed the company’s talcum powder products caused cancer, a proposal that lawyers for the plaintiffs called a “significant victory” in a legal fight that has lasted more than a decade.

The proposed settlement would be paid out over 25 years through a subsidiary, which filed for bankruptcy to enable the $8.9 billion trust, Johnson Johnson said in a court filing. If a bankruptcy court approves it, the agreement will resolve all current and future claims involving Johnson Johnson products that contain talc, such as baby powder, the company said.

In a statement, a group of lawyers who represent nearly 70,000 plaintiffs, including families of people who died of ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, described the deal as a “landmark” and a “significant victory for the tens of thousands of women suffering from gynecological cancers caused by J.J.’s talc-based products.”

For the deal to become final, the court would first have to accept a new bankruptcy filing by the Johnson Johnson subsidiary, LTL Management, and the settlement itself; the company also needs to persuade enough claimants to support the settlement plan. Johnson Johnson created LTL in 2021 in a maneuver to shield itself from the talc litigation, but an earlier bankruptcy filing by the unit was challenged by the plaintiffs and dismissed this year by a U.S. appeals court, which ruled that a bankruptcy wasn’t the right way to resolve the matter.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/04/business/media/johnson-johnson-talc-settlement.html