On February 25, after a five day trial, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, affirmed Johnson and Johnson’s use of a divisive merger known as the “Texas two-step” to resolve the talc-based litigation pending...
Litigation Update: FTC Announces Settlement Finalization on 2017 Equifax Data Breach Claims
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that in January 2022 it had finalized a settlement in the 2017 data breach involving the credit reporting company, Equifax. The data breach that exposed the personal information of approximately 147 million people was,...
New Infant Formula Lawsuits Forming Against Mead Johnson and Abbott Laboratories
New infant formula litigation has been developing over the last year involving two well-known formula products: Mead Johnson’s Enfamil and Abbott Laboratories’ Similac. The two cow milk-based infant formulas have been linked to the development of necrotizing...
Litigation Update: T-Mobile Attempts to Use Arbitration Clauses to Limit Data Breach MDL Class
In an effort to limit the number of potential class members in the T-Mobile data breach multi-district litigation, lawyers for T-Mobile USA, Inc. have taken the position that “a significant portion of this class is bound by arbitration agreements that would preclude...
NY Jury Finds Teva Contributed to Opioid Crisis in Suffolk and Nassau Counties
On December 30, after a six months-long trial, a New York jury found that Teva Pharmaceuticals contributed to the opioid crisis by creating a public nuisance in Suffolk and Nassau counties and New York State. Attributing 90% of the liability to Teva and its Anda Inc....
Litigation Update: Latest Purdue Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Proceedings
On December 16, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon issued a 142-page opinion ruling on the appeal brought by opponents to the Purdue Bankruptcy Plan that was approved in September, 2021 by Judge Robert D. Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District...
Major New Johnson & Johnson Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Updates
Three recent filings in the Johnson & Johnson Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings reflect some of the challenges faced by the pharmaceutical giant as it seeks to create its talc liability spinoff. On December 8, the U.S. Trustee’s office filed a brief objecting to...
Litigation Update: Split 3M Earplug Decisions with More Cases Scheduled for 2022
On December 10, a federal jury in Tallahassee, Florida awarded former U.S. Army veteran Theodore Finley $22.5 million, including $15 million in punitive damages, against earplug manufacturers 3M Co.and Aearo Technologies LLC. The plaintiff had alleged that as a result...
Litigation Update: Skepticism of J & J’s Bankruptcy and a Temporary Change of Venue Halt to 38,000 Talc cases.
On November 10, a federal judge in Charlotte, NC who is overseeing Johnson and Johnson’s bankruptcy trial temporarily halted approximately 38,000 talc-related personal injury lawsuits pending in state and federal courts, ruling the cases are more properly venued in...
Johnson & Johnson Creates Talc Litigation Spinoff and Places It into Chapter 11
Johnson and Johnson Creates Talc Litigation Spinoff and Places It into Chapter 11 On October 14, pharmaceutical giant Johnson and Johnson sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Western District of North Carolina for its newly created spinoff LTL Management. ...