Johnson & Johnson subsidiary files for bankruptcy again to deal with talc claims

By Yasin Ebrahim 

Investing.com -- Johnson&Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) said Tuesday its subsidiary LTL Management has re-filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection just months after an appeals court rejected its "Texas two-step" process to settle lawsuits that allege its talc products caused cancer.

Chapter 11 is needed to move ahead with a reorganization plan that includes a commitment to pay up to a present value of $8.9 billion, over 25 years, to settle all current and future talc claims, J&J said. The amount represents an increase of $6.9B over the $2B previously committed related to LTL's initial bankruptcy filing in October 2021, the company said. More than 60,000 current claimants support a global resolution on these terms, it added.

Johnson and Johnson created a subsidiary LTL Management and put it placed it into bankruptcy --  a Texas two-step strategy -- to deal with tens of thousands of legal claims alleging its talc caused cancer. But earlier this year in January, a U.S. appeals court dismissed the Chapter 11 petition filed as the subsidiary wasn't in financial distress.

The company reiterated that "neither LTL's original filing nor this re-filing is an admission of wrongdoing, nor an indication that the company has changed its longstanding position that its talcum powder products are safe."