Bankruptcy document with wooden gavel

Third Circuit Court of Appeals Rejects Johnson & Johnson’s Bankruptcy Plan to Handle Their Baby Powder Litigation

On January 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit dismissed the talc bankruptcy filing of Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary, LTL Management, LLC. After hearing arguments in September, the Third Circuit ultimately reversed the decision from New Jersey Bankruptcy Court and held that LTL was not in the financial distress required because of the value and quality of its assets and was therefore ineligible to petition the bankruptcy court for relief under Chapter 11.

Johnson & Johnson’s plan, as a corporate restructuring …

Continue Reading
Dictionary definition of the word Bankruptcy.

Certain State Actions Preliminarily Enjoined in Johnson & Johnson Bankruptcy Case

United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, October 4, 2022

The Asbestos Case Tracker has followed every step in Johnson & Johnson’s bankruptcy case. Recently, Plaintiff LTL Management (“Debtor”) moved to enjoin certain “State Actions” by New Mexico and Mississippi on a preliminary basis, as well as sought a temporary restraining order pending a final hearing. These State Actions include a complaint filed by the State of New Mexico against several defendants including J&J which the court refers to as the …

Continue Reading

Pump Manufacturer’s Bankruptcy Case Dismissed Under 11 U.S.C. § 707(a)

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut, May 25, 2022

In this bankruptcy action, Judge Manning described The Nash Engineering Company’s (debtor) Chapter 7 case as “anything but ordinary.” Indeed, Judge Manning noted that over 98% of the creditors are contingent, disputed, and unliquidated asbestos personal injury tort claimants. Following two status conferences, the court issued an Order to Show Cause as to why this case should not be dismissed as per 11 U.S.C. §§ 305 or 707(a).

After receiving several responses, the court …

Continue Reading

Talc Bankruptcy Case Transferred from North Carolina to New Jersey

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Charlotte Division, November 16, 2021

Debtor LTL Management LLC (LTL) was created through a corporate restructuring before the filing of the instant Chapter 11 case. Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (Old JJCI), a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (J&J), was replaced with two new corporate entities: (1) LTL, a Texas limited liability company that converted into a North Carolina limited liability company, and (2) a Texas limited liability company that was merged into J&J and …

Continue Reading

Johnson & Johnson’s Indirect Subsidiary Seeks Chapter 11 Protection and Establishment of Trust Relating to Cosmetic Talc Claims

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina, October 14, 2021

On October 14, 2021, LTL Management LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, filed papers in connection with pursuing Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Charlotte Division. According to its informational brief, LTL Management seeks to “resolve permanently all mass tort claims relating to its cosmetic talc products in a manner that is efficient and equitable to all parties, including current …

Continue Reading

Insurer Liability Remanded for Further Factual Findings as to Statutory Relationship Requirement

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, September 15, 2021

W.R. Grace & Co. (Grace) operated an asbestos mining and processing facility in Montana from 1963 to 1990. After declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Grace emerged and reorganized. Its reorganization plan included the establishment of an asbestos personal-injury trust, through which all asbestos-related personal injury claims against Grace were to be enjoined and channeled. The question before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit panel involved the Grace insurers and whether they could …

Continue Reading

Proof of Claim Bankruptcy Documents Ruled Discoverable with Redaction of Settlement Amounts and Sensitive Medical Information

Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Monroe, July 15, 2021

In this case, the plaintiff moved for a protective order granting partial relief from Subpoenas Duces Tecum served on non-party bankruptcy trusts. The plaintiff requested redactions of information regarding settlement amounts, nonparty-affiant personal information, highly sensitive and personal medical issues, and claim specific identification information generated by the trusts. The plaintiff additionally moved for in-camera inspection citing privacy concerns, while conceding that there was not privilege or prejudice.

The defendants opposed …

Continue Reading
Dictionary definition of the word Bankruptcy.

North Dakota Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Transparency Act Deemed Constitutional, Plaintiffs Demanded to Disclose Bankruptcy Trust Filings

U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota

In Kotalik v. A.W. Chesterton Co., several defendants filed motions to enforce the plaintiffs’ compliance with disclosure requirements of North Dakota’s Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Transparency Act. Counsel for the defendants as well as plaintiffs moved the court for a hearing on the issue. Lastly, plaintiffs’ counsel moved for a certification of a question to the North Dakota Supreme Court regarding the constitutionality of the Trust Transparency Act.

In its analysis, the court held that plaintiffs …

Continue Reading

Asbestos Claims Against Bankrupt Entities Barred Under Confirmation Order

United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Maryland. March 02, 2020

The plaintiffs were various entities who filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 in 2001. Their bankruptcy confirmation order set a bar date for the filing of claims by creditors against the entities. Nearly 16 years later, asbestos claimants filed claims for exposure to asbestos in Pennsylvania.  The plaintiffs then filed suit against the asbestos claimants as an adversarial bankruptcy proceeding. Motions for summary judgment were filed by both sides.

The court first set out to …

Continue Reading

Filing Date for Latent Asbestos Claimants Found Not to Violate Due Process in Reorganization Plan

United States Court of Appeals Third Circuit, February 18 2020

DELAWARE – The appellants are latent asbestos claimants who did not file by the bar date set by Chapter 11 bankruptcy but who were subsequently diagnosed with mesothelioma. The appellee is Energy Future Holdings Corporation (EFH), which was a holding company for several energy properties. Those subsidiaries became defunct long ago as a result of asbestos litigation. EFH also filed for bankruptcy as a result of vast sums of money owed to asbestos debtors. The …

Continue Reading