J&J Can’t Use Bankruptcy to End Cancer Suits Over Baby Powder, Court Says

  • Unit set up by J&J for talc cases loses bankruptcy protection
  • Company says it will challenge the appeals court ruling
Johnson & Johnson baby powderPhotographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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Johnson & Johnson can’t use bankruptcy to resolve more than 40,000 US cancer lawsuits over its now-withdrawn baby powder, a federal appeals court ruled.

The three-judge panel in Philadelphia sided with cancer victims, who 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.