Johnson & Johnson agreed to increase its talc settlement plan by $1.1 billion after negotiating with plaintiffs’ lawyers, according to one of the attorneys.
The bankruptcy plan would settle 99% of cases alleging J&J’s talc products caused cancer. The pharma giant controversially spun its talc liabilities into a separate company called LLT (formerly LTL) in 2021. That company has twice unsuccessfully tried to settle the claims through bankruptcy.
J&J proposed a third settlement plan in May that would give ovarian cancer claimants $6.5 billion over 25 years, or more than $8 billion when accounting for interest on future payments. The company is seeking the support of at least 75% of claimants. The deadline to vote passed in July, but J&J granted a “short extension” pending negotiations with the plaintiffs’ attorneys.
Allen Smith, who represents about 8,000 ovarian cancer claimants, said J&J has since agreed to raise the settlement amount by $1.1 billion in addition to other “non-monetary” agreements, such as revisions that could help claimants get paid sooner. Smith said he will recommend that his clients support the plan.
“When Johnson & Johnson first proposed bankruptcy three, I was against it,” Smith told Endpoints News. “Now I can say unequivocally that this revised plan adequately compensates women for their injuries.”
J&J declined to confirm the new terms on Thursday.
While the vote has not yet been certified, J&J said Thursday that it is “confident that these additional claimants’ votes will further increase the support for the plan, well above the 75% threshold needed.” The company said it expects the final count and certification to be completed this month.
Richard Golomb, who represents more than 1,600 ovarian cancer claimants, said Thursday that he will “continue to oppose the abusive bankruptcy of a $400 billion company that is not under financial distress.”
“While there have been productive talks over the past several weeks, we are still unable to answer the two basic questions that our clients reasonably ask us: How much is my case worth, and when will I get paid?” he said.