Johnson & Johnson must face new lawsuits accusing the company of selling tainted baby powder that caused cancer, a judge ruled, opening the company up to court actions that had been halted for 19 months.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan said Thursday the company won’t have to go to trial over any talc lawsuits for at least 60 days, but new lawsuits can be filed. Kaplan also said lawyers suing on behalf of tens of thousands of people can begin preparing their cases for the first time since late 2021. The limited pause is in trials is designed to give J&J’s bankrupt unit, LTL Management, time to try to win court approval of an $8.9 billion settlement.
Kaplan’s pause is narrower than the one sought by J&J. Lawyers for J&J’s bankrupt unit tried to convince Kaplan to block all the baby powder lawsuits from going forward, just as he did after J&J first put the company into bankruptcy in 2021. That bankruptcy was dismissed earlier this month.
