Johnson & Johnson has threatened to file a new bankruptcy case to try to settle more than 40,000 cancer lawsuits, lawyers for people suing the company said in a court filing.
(Bloomberg) — Johnson & Johnson has threatened to file a new bankruptcy case to try to settle more than 40,000 cancer lawsuits, lawyers for people suing the company said in a court filing.
The company’s first attempt to use bankruptcy to force a settlement on cancer victims was scheduled to end today when a federal judge was set to dismiss that Chapter 11 case, according to a court filing.
Trying to file a second bankruptcy case would be wrong, lawyers for a committee of claimants said in a filing in US Bankruptcy Court in Trenton, New Jersey.
“There is no reason Johnson & Johnson should be permitted to access the tools of bankruptcy to address their liability at this time,” they said.
Last year, a three-judge panel in Philadelphia sided with cancer victims in throwing out the original bankruptcy case. Those victims argued J&J wrongly put its specially created unit, LTL Management, under court protection to block juries around the country from hearing the lawsuits and handing out damage awards.
The J&J bankruptcy case is LTL Management LLC, 21-30589, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of New Jersey (Trenton).
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