Otterbourg Secures Victory for Talc Claimants in Johnson & Johnson Bankruptcy Case
April 2, 2025
April 2, 2025 - In a pivotal decision, a U.S. bankruptcy judge has dismissed Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) third attempt to use a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing to settle the growing number of claims related to its talcum powder products. The ruling marks a significant victory for Otterbourg client, Coalition of Counsel for Justice for Talc Claimants, which has been actively opposing J&J’s bankruptcy strategy to protect the rights of tens of thousands of individuals who have claimed the company’s talc products caused cancer.
The decision, issued by Judge Christopher M. Lopez of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, comes after a two-week trial in which J&J subsidiary Red River Talc sought to resolve approximately 90,000 ovarian and gynecological cancer claims through a proposed $9 billion bankruptcy settlement. The judge found that voting procedure irregularities and issues with the third-party releases were significant enough to invalidate the bankruptcy case.
Adam Silverstein, Co-Chair of Otterbourg’s Mass Tort Bankruptcy Practice, led the trial team alongside David Castleman, partner at the firm, as the primary litigators. Melanie Cyganowski, retired Chief Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York and Chair of Otterbourg’s Restructuring and Bankruptcy Practice, and Sunni Beville, Co-Chair of the firm’s Mass Tort Bankruptcy Practice, acted as the primary bankruptcy lawyers on the team. Otterbourg teamed up effectively with co-counsel Bailey & Glasser, LLP and local counsel Lawson & Moshenberg PLLC.
“This case has always been about fairness,” said Mr. Silverstein. “J&J tried to wear down victims through delay tactics, legal loopholes and backroom deals. This ruling shuts down that abuse and ensures that real people — not corporate executives — will decide what justice looks like.”
Former Judge Cyganowski added, “We are grateful that Judge Lopez ensured that claimant voices are heard before a bankruptcy resolution is imposed on them. The victory for talc claimants in this case was well worth our team’s exhaustive efforts.”
This ruling marks J&J’s third failure in using bankruptcy as a method to resolve mass tort claims. J&J’s previous efforts in 2021 and 2022 were similarly dismissed.
About Otterbourg P.C.
Otterbourg P.C. offers clients a unique combination of legal insight and practical solutions and is known for its integrity, legal expertise, stability and business knowledge. The firm, established more than 100 years ago, regularly represents clients in matters of national and international scope, including banks, finance companies, hedge funds, private equity firms, real estate investment firms, corporate clients and high net-worth individuals. The firm’s practice areas include domestic and cross-border financings, litigation and alternative dispute resolutions, real estate, restructuring and bankruptcy proceedings, mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions, and trusts and estates.