Johnson & Johnson’s attempt to use bankruptcy courts to end thousands of lawsuits related to its talc-based baby powder now depends on a trial scheduled for January. A federal judge in Houston will decide whether J&J’s proposal to settle the claims with an $8.2 billion payout can proceed. A lead attorney for holdouts has alleged that a vote by claimants in support of the deal was rigged, a claim that J&J denies.
J&J has been unable to resolve the litigation surrounding its talc-based baby powder, which the company maintains never caused cancer and is no longer available. After two unsuccessful attempts to resolve the claims by bankrupting a unit in New Jersey, the company is trying again through a fast-track process in Texas. The company says it has set aside $12 billion to resolve all of its baby powder cases, including thousands of ovarian cancer claims.
The company’s worldwide head of litigation, Erik Haas, said the vote process was legitimate and that the proposed bankruptcy plan is what claimants want. However, Andy Birchfield, a lawyer representing thousands of alleged victims, accused another plaintiff’s attorney of improperly changing votes. He also claimed that the consulting firm overseeing the process facilitated the switch at the behest of J&J. Birchfield’s lawyers say that EPIQ, the consulting firm hired by J&J, and another plaintiffs’ lawyer, Allen Smith, improperly switched 11,434 votes from “reject to accept.”
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