 "J&J talc unit second bankruptcy must be dismissed, victims' lawyers say")
Johnson & Johnson's renewed effort to resolve talc lawsuits through an $8.9 billion bankruptcy settlement must be dismissed as a "fraudulent scheme" that defies a court order rejecting the company's previous attempt to settle the litigation, according to court filing from lawyers representing cancer victims.
The attorneys, in the filing on Monday, denounced J&J's move to refile its subsidiary LTL Management for bankruptcy, which relies on a controversial legal maneuver, just two hours after its first case was dismissed.
They said the company had fraudulently transferred $50 billion in assets away from LTL to get around a court ruling that it was not in sufficient "financial distress" to qualify for bankruptcy.
J&J said last week that its new bankruptcy plan was the best way to resolve current and future talc lawsuits alleging that its baby powder products cause cancer, including more than 38,000 cases that have previously been filed in federal court in New Jersey.
J&J, which maintains that its talc products are safe and do not cause cancer, said 70,000 claimants had signed up to support its new $8.9 billion settlement plan. The plaintiffs' new filing disputes J&J's claimed level of support.