Johnson & Johnson was rejected by a U.S. bankruptcy judge in its $10 billion proposal to end tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging its baby powder and other talc products cause ovarian cancer. This is the third time the health care conglomerate's bankruptcy strategy has failed in court.
Facing lawsuits from 60,000 claimants, the settlement would have ended the cases and prevented new ones in the future. In a news release, Johnson & Johnson called the claims "meritless" and based on "junk science." The company said it will return to the tort system to litigate the claims.
“Today’s decision highlights the broken tort system in the United States. The Company reiterates that none of the talc-related claims against it have merit and attempts to resolve this litigation were aimed at moving past this issue,” said Erik Haas, worldwide vice president of Litigation with Johnson & Johnson. “The decision to litigate every filed case is based on the simple fact that this is a fake claim created by greedy plaintiff lawyers looking for another deep pocket to sue and fueled by litigation-financed attorney advertising.”
Johnson & Johnson claims its products are safe, do not contain asbestos, and do not cause cancer. The company stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the U.S. in 2020, switching to a corn starch product.
The company had previously reached a $700 million settlement with dozens of states that had sued the company. The settlement allowed Johnson & Johnson to deny any wrongdoing.
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District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb said Johnson & Johnson's talc-based powders showed "asbestos was present in the talc, and that the company failed to disclose that the asbestos in the talc is harmful and may lead to cancer."
