MONTGOMERY, Ala., July 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorneys
representing several thousand women diagnosed with ovarian cancer
after exposure to Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) Baby Powder and
other talc-based products are denouncing the company over reports
it is considering bankruptcy to avoid financial
responsibility.
"This is about as contemptible as it gets," says attorney
Leigh O'Dell of Beasley Allen, co-lead counsel of the
plaintiff's steering committee in federal multidistrict litigation
(MDL) in New Jersey. "These women
have suffered enough. If this report is true, we believe it's time
for Congress and the Securities and Exchange Commission to
investigate and outlaw cash-rich companies from playing corporate
shell games and using federal bankruptcy law to avoid paying the
victims they've hurt and misled."
According to a July 28 report by
the Reuters news agency, "Exclusive: J&J exploring putting
talc liabilities into bankruptcy - sources," the company, which
enjoys a $443 billion market
capitalization, is considering bankruptcy to limit financial
exposure to thousands of lawsuits related to its talc-based
products, including Johnson's Baby Powder and Shower to Shower
brands.
Dozens of studies published in peer-reviewed journals during the
past 25 years have shown a statistically significant association
between talc use and ovarian cancer. Documents produced at trial
show that the company was aware of the possible dangers as far back
as the 1960s.
Since 2013, juries in numerous trials have found J&J liable
for compensatory and punitive damages to ovarian cancer victims,
although many verdicts were later overturned in appellate courts on
jurisdictional grounds, but not on the merits of the case.
Last year, a Missouri appellate court entered a
$2.1 billion judgment against the
company. Justices found "significant reprehensibility" in J&J's
handling of the issue of asbestos in its baby powder and concluded
that J&J avoided "adopting more accurate measures for detecting
asbestos," while discussing the asbestos risk of the powder in
internal memos and refusing until recently to replace talc in its
baby powder with corn starch, which doesn't pose a cancer risk.
Both the Missouri Supreme Court and the United States Supreme
Court declined to overturn the award. A bankruptcy filing could
significantly reduce the compensation available to remaining
claimants and would prevent them from having their day in
court.
"Solvent corporations should not be able to abuse the bankruptcy
process to shield themselves from their responsibilities," says
trial lawyer Michelle Parfitt,
co-lead counsel in the federal talc MDL and a senior partner in the
law firm, Ashcraft & Gerel. "This would be corporate welfare of
the worst kind. And who would suffer the most? The women who have
already lost so much due to J&J's behavior. I believe they are
attempting to intimidate them by threatening bankruptcy. It won't
work."
About the Beasley Allen Law Firm
Headquartered in Montgomery, Ala.,
Beasley Allen is comprised of more
than 70 attorneys and 200 support staff. One of the largest
Plaintiffs law firms in the country, Beasley Allen is a national leader in civil
litigation, with verdicts and settlements in excess of $26 billion. For more information
visit www.beasleyallen.com.
Contact:
Mike Androvett
Androvett Legal Media
800-559-4534
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SOURCE Beasley Allen Law Firm