On November 10, 2021, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig Whitley of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Western District of North Carolina, issued an order transferring claims against Johnson & Johnson (“J&J”) related to its talc-based products to a federal court in New Jersey where the multidistrict litigation, In re: Johnson and Johnson Talcum Powder Products Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability, is currently pending.
J&J preferred that the claims remained in North Carolina due to a favorable legal precedent; however, plaintiffs sought to have the case transferred to New Jersey, the home of 35,000 pending claims where considerable work has already been completed.
In early October 2021, J&J created the subsidiary, LTL Management, LLC (“LTL”) to transfer the liabilities associated with the cases away from the parent company. This move is referred to as the “Texas two-step” and has been employed by corporations protect the parent company.
The claims alleging that J&J’s talc products cause cancer have also been stayed for 60 days to allow the N.J transferee judge time to review the proceedings.
Plaintiffs are represented by Joe Satterly of Kazan McClain Satterly & Greenwood PLLC.
The bankruptcy administrator is Shelley K. Abel.
LTL is represented by Jones Day, Rayburn Cooper Durham PA, King & Spalding LLP, and Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP.
The case is In re: LTL Management LLC, case number 3:21-30589, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina.
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