While Mesothelioma Plaintiffs Wait, Fraud Case Against Johnson & Johnson Allowed to Proceed

Johnson & Johnson has been named as the defendant in tens of thousands of person injury lawsuits filed by people diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma and ovarian cancer, and by their survivors. Those cases, which blame talc in the company’s popular baby powder product for their illnesses, are all on hold, awaiting the outcome of bankruptcy proceedings involving the company’s recently formed subsidiary, LTL Management LLC. However, a separate case accusing the company of fraudulently misrepresentation involving talc, will be permitted to move forward.

Case Accusing J&J of Fraud Deemed Separate from Mesothelioma Claims

Although Johnson & Johnson’s attorneys attempted to shift the fraud claim into the same pending category as is currently impacting mesothelioma and ovarian cancer victims, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan agreed with the plaintiffs in the fraud case that their claims were distinct from the asbestos injury claims and should not be precluded by the litigation stay in the Chapter 11 case.

While the company’s transfer of all of its liabilities involving mesothelioma and ovarian cancer claims is the root of the Chapter 11 litigation, Judge Kaplan said that the establishment of LTL did not create indemnification obligations with regard to the fraud class action, and that the fraud case should proceed.

Fraud Case is a Class Action Suit Filed by Workers Exposed to Industrial Talc

Rather than being filed by consumers diagnosed with mesothelioma or ovarian cancer, the fraud case that the judge has allowed to proceed was filed by Daniel and Roger Edley, whose father Louis died in 1994. Tey are representing a class of workers exposed to industrial talc who had filed suit against Johnson and Johnson and a unit of Imerys Talc. The case was dismissed based on what they say were false and fraudulent representations by J & J, and they are now suing the company for fraud and spoliation of evidence rather than for compensation for the asbestos injuries suffered.