Johnson & Johnson announced on Tuesday that it had struck a tentative agreement to resolve investigations by US states into whether it deceived consumers about the safety of its talc products, which thousands of lawsuits claim can cause cancer.
Johnson & Johnson Tentative Agreement
The agreement involves 42 states and Washington, D.C. The Wall Street Journal reports that the firm has tentatively agreed to pay approximately $700 million to satisfy the states’ claims.
“Consistent with the plan we outlined last year, the company continues to pursue several paths to achieve a comprehensive and final resolution of the talc litigation,” J&J’s global vice president of litigation, Erik Haas, said in a statement.
Settlement does not include private plaintiffs’ cases against the firm, some of which are scheduled to go to trial later this year.
J&J claims that its now-discontinued talc products are safe and do not cause cancer. It previously allocated $400 million to settle state claims.
The business, which posted fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday, is still facing over 50,000 talc-related lawsuits, the majority of which are filed by women with ovarian cancer.
A small number of cases involve persons with mesothelioma, a kind of cancer linked to asbestos. It recently settled certain mesothelioma cases for an undisclosed sum, but has maintained that their talc does not contain asbestos.
J&J Over its Talc Obligations
Johnson n’ Johnson has twice attempted to resolve the cases by declaring bankruptcy over its talc obligations, but both attempts have been rejected by courts.
In the most recent unsuccessful bankruptcy filing, the corporation proposed paying $8.9 billion to talc plaintiffs. J&J announced last year that it was preparing a third bankruptcy file.
The arrangement with the states may make this simpler, as several states have already asserted that, unlike private claimants, they can continue to pursue claims while a bankruptcy is proceeding. The courts have not decided the problem.
Trials in the Johnson & Johnson talc cases have had a mixed record, with key plaintiff victories including a $2.1 billion judgement handed in 2020 to 22 women with ovarian cancer.
In October, a New Jersey appeals court overturned a $223.8 million verdict against the business, ruling that the testimony of the plaintiffs’ expert witnesses was unsound.
The firm discontinued sales of talc-based baby powder in favour of cornstarch-based goods, citing an increase in litigation and “misinformation” regarding the talc product’s safety.
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