Avon Urged to Slow Bankruptcy While Cancer Victims Get Organized
- Beauty brand wants court to end hundreds of cancer lawsuits
- Owner of non-US operations filed insolvency case to cut debt
Avon said it was forced to file bankruptcy, in part because of the pandemic and to confront a wave of lawsuits alleging talc in its products caused cancer.
Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg
Beauty brand Avon Products Inc. should slow down its bankruptcy case so that people who allegedly got cancer from the company’s products have time to study any potential payout plan, a lawyer said in court Wednesday.
Victims deserve a special committee to represent them in the Chapter 11 case, said Todd Phillips, a lawyer for people who claim Avon’s talc products are responsible for their health problems. The company faces nearly 400 lawsuits alleging that some Avon cosmetics contained asbestos, a toxic substance that was once used in everything from automobile brake pads to ceiling tiles.