Over the last week, news outlets reported that Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is moving forward with a $6.48 billion proposed settlement of the tens of thousands of lawsuits filed against the pharmaceutical giant because its baby powder and other talc products contain asbestos, which is known to cause ovarian cancer in women. Notably, there have been numerous verdicts against Johnson & Johnson in these cases, including a $2.21 billion award for 22 women whose cases were tried together.
However, there is no talc settlement. J&J is using the news to advertise a proposed settlement after years of attempting to escape liability by claiming their underlying companies were bankrupt and trying to take advantage of the bankruptcy system. When plaintiffs’ attorneys fought and got the bankruptcy filing dismissed, J&J responded with a second bankruptcy filing that was also dismissed.
The corporate giant is now threatening a third bankruptcy while simultaneously soliciting plaintiffs’ counsel to consent to a $6.5 billion global resolution of the cases, which is woefully inadequate. Given the current number of claimants, this deal would mean each injured woman who is now suffering from ovarian cancer because of J&J would only receive $50,000. J&J knows that plaintiffs’ counsel will fight this and has started a media blitz advertising the $6.5 billion proposed settlement, with no explanation as to how much money the injured women will actually receive. The plaintiffs’ lead counsel is fighting hard to stop this bullying and to negotiate a fair settlement that ensures each woman gets a fair value for her case.
At Anapol Weiss, Richard Golomb is on leadership in the multi-district talc litigation and is currently engrossed in expert depositions in these cases. Moreover, shareholder Tracy Finken Magnotta is also taking expert depositions, and both are prepared to fight for injured women. Should a settlement not go through, Anapol Weiss intends to take an active lead in trying these cases.